Misadventures of a Wicked Stepsister
by Backroads
Summary: Wyni is a beautiful princess. Kat is her wicked and ugly stepsister who can't stand her. So what is Kat to do when Wyni is abducted by an evil dragon?
1. In Which a Story Begins

_I'm redoing The Other Princess from way back when, because looking upon it made me cringe. Here is about fifty pages summed up into what I hope is a tidy little prologue. New title, lots of differences, same chaotic Kat and Wyni adventures._

* * *

Once upon a time there was a kind and beautiful princess who lived in a stunning palace and who happened to be adored by pretty much everyone.

As for me, I couldn't stand her. Apparently I am a spoiled little brat with social issues that might be affecting my opinion of the Princess Wynafrette, but she really, really bothered me. And I can say that about a lot of people, but it was especially true with her. There's only so much you can take of a person when clearly your two personalities do not mesh. I'm not insulting her. She is a wonderful person.

A wonderful person who happens to be my stepsister.

I suppose I should have seen it coming. My mother grew up in the royal court. She was a beautiful attendant of the Queen who fell in love with the King's newly appointed general. My father. He wasn't quite so attractive, and tragically he happened to be my source of looks. But he was at least interesting. So they married, ran off to my father's country manor, and had me. But my mother never lost her fondness for palace life and her friendships there—including the Royal Prince Edward. They were all good friends, my parents and Edward.

Edward… he was the kingdom's idol. He was smart and handsome and everything a good prince should be. He won the hand of some enchanted princess from a faraway kingdom. The old King and Queen retired and the new couple took over. What a princess, what a queen. She was gorgeous. Wynafrette looks like her, with all the nobility and charm of her father.

So things happened. Our kingdom, Daven, warred with another. My father, my wonderful, brave, loving father, was killed. The day the news came to our manor was the worst day of my life. True worst. Not the horrible chain of annoyances that would follow.

The Queen (the new one, the enchanted princess) got sick. You'd think breaking an enchantment would free someone from future disease, but it doesn't work that way. Eventually she died and King Edward went into this ridiculous seven-year mourning period. Mother didn't even do that for Father. But she didn't approve of the seven-year mourning thing. Mother was like that. She liked fun, she liked parties, she liked happiness, and a King holding court while wearing black went against everything she believed in.

So one day my beautiful, passionate mother took off for court to tell King Edward exactly what she thought of his behavior. Beautiful, passionate people who happen to be life-long friends of the King can get away with that.

She returned with the news they were getting married.

A month later, there was a big wedding, Mother and I left our manor and moved into the palace with Edward and Wyni.

The second worst day of my life.


	2. In Which Kat Gets a New Family

I despise weddings. Probably an unfair thing to say in light of the fact that I had never actually attended one before, but the experience at hand was not setting a good first example. It was chaotic and noisy and full of way too many people. And that was just arriving at the palace.

I had never before been to Linlell, the capitol city of Daven. It had always been more or less visible from our country manor, but I had never given it much thought beyond that random spot of gleaming city. Turned out that gleaming spot in the distance was big, crowded, and all-over a mess. We had not even made it to the first buildings when I had my hands over my ears.

Mother thought Linlell beautiful. She had her faced pressed up against the carriage windows, smiling idiotically, like the over-zealous people we often made fun of. "Look at it, darling! This is the main market square. Only the finest shops can hope to survive here. We'll have to go often. And the sounds! Ah, it's like music!"

All I could hear was shouting. The place could have been massacred by the gang of Sandarin Bandit and Mother would have been squirming with joy. I sighed and leaned against my seat. "I miss my horse."

"Peter's bringing her another time, Kat. Tomorrow, perhaps. And you know you can't go riding today."

"Why did we leave the morning of the wedding? Wonderful preparation, Mother. Your timing astounds me."

She turned from the window and rolled her eyes at me. They were brown and dark, dramatic against her pale brown hair. "The wedding is at sunset. You know that. It's barely 10:00."

"How do you know that?"

"The clock tower, of course. You can see it right out here, if you'd bother looking. It was completed when I was your age."

"Great. We have a clock tower. Are there no clocks in the palace?"

Her smile faded. "Kat, darling, I know you still haven't warmed up to this. And we've been through this battle. Over and over again. It's becoming unbelievably dull."

She had me there. "You could just ignore me."

"I think that may be the best course."

I smiled. "Glad we agree."

She smiled back. "Just meet them. You're obviously not going to have a lot of choice in the matter."

I twirled my finger through my hair. My hair was brown, dirt-brown, and monstrously curly, which made it convenient for twirling. "I have met them. That party years ago. I was eight or something."

"Yes, but that was years ago. Remember, I'm ignoring any complains you have." She paused and thoughtfully tapped her nails on the seat. "You did pack that dress?"

"Yes. It's in my trunk." My bridesmaid dress. Another hideous detail of the wedding day. Actually, it wasn't hideous. I looked good in it, which was something that could be said for few dresses and me.

"Good, because we're here."

I glanced out of my window in time to see an iron gate being pulled apart by stiff guards. Shade instantly drenched us as the carriage pulled up a tree-lined road leading up to the royal palace of Daven. My new home.

It was not at large as I expected, that was to be commended. It was quite lovely, in fact. Polished grey marble, gleaming windows no doubt shined up for the big event. I stared at the palace, awestruck against my better feelings. It was an image from a storybook.

"I said you would like it."

"I can't believe you have never taken me here before!"

The carriage stopped just before the giant doors, where a few more lines of expressionless guards waited with a few more people of more emotional readability. I recognized one immediately. My own wonderful grandfather, an advisor to King Edward. The other two, I could only assume, were my new family members.

I closed my eyes. The worst day of my life had sent a soldier and a royal messenger to our door. And a letter of regret from the King.

"Sarah!" I opened my eyes to see our carriage door open and King Edward gallantly taking Mother's hand. He looked more or less the way I remembered him from years ago—tall, kingly, warm eyes, well-cut reddish beard. He was a handsome man, and very nice. I wouldn't commit treason against the King in that regard.

Mother stepped from the carriage as only she could step from a carriage. She was back in her element, that much was clear. "Edward, I'm so happy to see you."

Of course she was. It was the wedding day. I would have been a little surprised had she met him with a knife in the belly.

Then the King turned his attention to me. It's rather disconcerting to have all of the King's attention on you. I forced a smile. "Katrina," he said. "It's a pleasure to see you again. I haven't seen you since you were a little girl, if you remember. A party of your mother's."

"I do remember, Your Majesty. It was a wonderful party."

"You released a herd of cats."

"We had a lot of cats at the time." I liked cats. Hence my preferred name.

"You need to call her Kat, dear," Mother put in. "She never listens to anything else."

"Kat, then. May I take your hand?"

Mother shot me a look, but I shook my head. "No, thank-you, Your Majesty."

"Please, call me Edward."

Was I allowed to? "Edward."

Edward still held out his hand for mine, smile on his face. Oh, but I could tell he was getting married at sunset.

"I'd rather my Grandfather assisted me." There. That should please Mother. I was gracious, I made perfect sense, and successfully avoided actually touching my soon-to-be stepfather.

So Grandfather helped me out. The moment my feet were on the ground I buried my face into his chest. I did not want to cry, I did not want to cry. But there was something about being held by Grandfather that released tears. At least I was silent.

"Pleasure to see you, too, Kat," he whispered before kissing my forehead. "Please, be social." Grandfather visited often. He knew me. I was not a social creature. "The Princess wants to speak with you."

"Kat!" came the cry.

Cringing, I let Grandfather release me, and turned to the Princess Wynafrette just in time for her to envelope me in a strangling hug.

Really, I couldn't breathe. So I just stood there, suffocating in the waterfall of golden hair.

"Kat," she repeated as she backed off a few inches. "I am so thrilled you are here! You have no idea how excited I have been to see you again. How long has it been? Since that party years ago? You took me to see the kittens?"

The ones we had released on the dance floor. "Yes, I believe that was the last time."

"Oh, but we were just children then! And now we are to be sisters!" She hugged me again.

I had no words.

She finally let go of me and stood back to take me in, her lovely face beaming. She was beautiful. Everyone talked about how beautiful the Princess was, and it was true. Before she had just been a cute little blonde thing. I think she younger than I was by at least a year, but she was a whole head taller. And her hair. It was a perfect shade of gold and fell past her waist. Her eyes were blue. They might as well have been sapphires. The girl was a walking treasure chest.

I was not exactly jealous, but she was difficult to stand next to. I was short, had always been short, and hardly expected to do much more growth. I didn't have gem-colored eyes; rather, I had somehow been born with differently colored eyes, one green and the other a muddy brown.

"Let me take you to your room," Princess Wynafrette said after the moment of awkward staring. "You must be exhausted. We'll give you the official tour later. We only have so long to get ready for the ceremony, besides!"

I could have sworn the wedding was at sunset, but before I could bring that up Princess Wynafrette had me by the hand and was yanking me right into the palace. My first impression was stepping into the sun. It was not as if the place had been decorated in sheaves of gold, but yellow did seem to be the leading color. Within moments we were up a ridiculously large staircase and zooming through halls. Yes, the official tour was definitely not happening at this time.

We finally stopped in a quiet hallway. "Our rooms are here," Princess Wynafrette said, gesturing to the length of doors. "It's away from all the political areas, so I promise you won't be bothered. Mine is here." She touched a doorknob. "And you, my dear sister Kat, will be right next door. It was always used for my friends when they visited, but I wanted you to have it. I've had a little decorating done, but you were always so interesting that I didn't dare do too much." She opened the door.

My new room was about thrice the size of my old room. An enormous bed with a pale gold cover sat under a window stretching the height of the wall. Curtains were pulled back to let in the sun. A wardrobe of dark wood was ready to hold more dresses than I would probably own in my life. And flowers. Wow. Vases of flowers covered every possible surface that could hold a vase.

"We'll add more to it, I promise," Princess Wynafrette said. She fell back on the bed, laughing. "You are going to be so happy here, Kat. We are going to have such fun. How was your trip?"

"I'm really tired, Wynafrette."

"Wyni." She sat up. "Kat, I insist you call me Wyni. I can't stand the name Wynafrette. It takes forever to say. I think Wyni suits me more, don't you think?"

Honestly, I couldn't care less. "Wyni, then."

"It sounds wonderful coming from you." She bounced from the bed. "I'll show you off to everyone tonight. Take a nap, or wash up if you'd like, and I'll have a maid fill a bath for you. Someone will be along short with your things." She all but skipped from the room.

I stared at the room. It was nicely done, but I hated it. This wasn't my room, this wasn't my home. I hated everything about it.

* * *

The wedding was chaos. It was a pretty thing, I suppose, set up in a rose-filled garden. Apparently the palace boasted many gardens.

Wyni and I were the bridesmaids. Wyni was in her element with her hair all done up with ribbon to match her dress and her pretty face all-aglow with excitement about her new family. I, on the other hand, probably looked miserable. Here I was, helping Mother marry a man who was not my father. But the dress was all right. My dress was very elegant: simple, blue, and longer than anything I had ever worn before. I liked the way it trailed behind me. At the base of the collar sat a round jewel of aquamarine. It was only on my gown, not Wyni's. My one perk of the evening.

Mother looked absolutely thrilled when the ceremony itself went underway, and so did Edward. They repeated their vows and they kissed. It was official; His Royal Majesty was my stepfather. After the ceremony, the fun began, but I slunk away to the side to watch.

Half of Daven must have come. No one could even see the pretty roses. Probably for the best. The roses made me ill and no one seemed to care.

Also in attendance was representative from the neighboring kingdom of Tek. Only the children had come, the Princess and the Prince. Apparently the rulers themselves could care less about the wedding.

The Tek Prince I did not see. I caught a glimpse of the back of his head, but I made no effort to introduce myself to him as Mother had suggested.

"Your position has changed," she had said. "You should be more sociable."

Well, I had never wanted my position to change, and the Prince made no effort to socialize himself.

The Tek Princess, on the other hand, was someone I couldn't avoid. She was another Wyni, a shorter, darker Wyni. After following me around and talking my ear off and getting no response except 'Leave me alone', she joined Wyni. Never before had I seen two people click together as well as those two. I found my eyes following them as they wandered around, gossiping and greeting guests. They were an odd pair: tall, blond Wyni in her simple blue dress and the short, raven-haired Tek Princess in her wildly jeweled and embroidered gown.

I was stretched out on my back, staring up at the leaves, when they meandered my way again. Before I knew it, Wyni had taken my hand and pulled me to my feet.

"You shouldn't lie down!" she scolded. "You'll get your dress dirty!"

The Tek Princess giggled, covering her mouth politely. "Don't worry, Wyni. The dress is fine. Besides, the grass looks quite comfortable."

Both girls looked at each other and laughed. I had no idea what was so funny.

I rolled my eyes. "I'll just make you trade me dresses if mine gets dirty." It was the most I had said to Wyni. There. Mother would have to be proud.

The Tek Princess laughed again, a high-pitched, bubbly sound. "Oh, Wyni was right. You truly are funny. I suppose I didn't notice earlier because you weren't talking. Excited about your new family, I assume."

"This is Chanya of Tek," Wyni said, motioning towards the Tek Princess. "Isn't that a pretty name? And her adorable cousin is around here somewhere, she says."

"Adorable?" Chanya made a face then broke out laughing. Wyni, of course, laughed too.

"Excuse me." I took the opportunity to escape. Idiots, I realized. They were both idiots. My stepsister was an idiot.

I'm sure the wedding was lovely. I just hated it. I hated the noise and I hated the people and I hated what was going on. I was surrounded by happiness and all I wanted to do was go somewhere and cry. Away from the Two Idiots of Chanya and Wyni. I headed for the little group of trees near the back. That could provide some cover.

"Kat!" Mother came running up behind me. I stopped.

"How are you, darling? Still blue?"

Had Wyni or Chanya been around, they certainly would have made some joke about 'blue' and my dress. "Of course I am!"

Mother nodded sympathetically. Her eyes were bright and her cheeks were red with excitement, but she still somehow managed to make herself seem sympathetic. "You were fine before. It's just today, you understand. I'm sure it's hard on you. But you'll be fine."

"Just like you're fine with ruining my life?"

She frowned and narrowed her eyes. "I'm not ruining your life! You gave your consent. You are the one who's ruining your life by acting this way."

"I thought we weren't doing this argument anymore."

"Things will get better, I promise," she said, placing a hand on my cheek. "Just give Eddie and Wynafrette a chance."

I looked past Mother to where Wyni stood giggling with Chanya. "Give her a chance?"

Mother followed my eyes. "She does seem a bit... chipperish. But she's a nice girl. You've barely spent any time with her."

"She doesn't even listen to me. I can't get a word in edgewise."

"Then go talk to Edward. He's looking for you."

What in earth and sky would he want to say to me? Scowling, I made my way over to where my new stepfather waited, somehow standing strangely apart from the rest of the crowd.

Edward did not try to hug me or any such thing; for that I was grateful. He just smiled gently at me. He seemed almost... nervous.

I refused to meet his eyes. "Mother said you wanted to talk."

He nodded. "I understand you're a little upset about this marriage."

"Wouldn't you be?" I knew I was being rude, but it was certainly all right now that he was no longer my King, but my stepfather.

Edward didn't miss a beat. I'm sure he was excellent in court that way. "I certainly would be. I'm not going to pretend that everything is going to be excellent and that you're going to adjust to this as well as Wyni."

I stared down at my slippers. "She can adjust to anything."

"She misses her mother," he continued. "This marriage is good for her that way. She finally has a sister. She absolutely adores you. Katrina, I know I'm not your father, and I'm not going to try and replace him."

I said nothing. He did not even remember to call me Kat.

"Could you just give me a chance to try and be part of your family? I'll take care of you as my own daughter."

Oh, but could he say nothing sillier? What sort of king would toss out his wife's daughter? It certainly would not be good for his image. This was, though. Edward having a private moment with his wife's tender. How charming, how tender. I very much wanted to just walk away.

So I looked at him with the best smile I could muster. I was forcing a lot of those today. "Of course." I barely resisted putting in "Your Majesty."


	3. In Which Wyni is Afraid of Everything

"Oh, Kat, you are extremely lucky. He's absolutely charming!"

My first official day of life at the royal palace as part of the royal family was getting off to a start that did not surprise me much. Maybe I just wasn't a good one for surprises. For once, however, my new stepsister was oozing her sunshine over something other than me.

Horses. They had been brought that morning, ready for their new life.

If I had discovered anything about the Princess, it was her passion for horses. I had awoken early, gone down to the stables, and soon enough was followed by Wyni. I think she was stalking me, but the sight of the new additions to the royal stables threw her into a frenzy of giggles and shrieks. She was especially delighted with Blaze, one of our palominos. It was to that perfect golden horse that she raced to, stroked, and cooed to until I was certain that even Blaze's famous and unconditional friendliness had given way to mutual adoration for Wyni.

"Blaze is just a horse," I told her.

She laughed and shook her head. "He's beautiful. I've never seen a finer horse. I'm envious of you, Kat, for owning him. No, I shouldn't be envious. I'm thrilled you own him."

"You're obsessed." I liked horses. Who didn't? But this was madness.

Wyni ran her fingers through a snarl in Blaze's mane. "His hair is a mess. You need to be combed, don't you, Blazey?"

Blazey? I decided to ignore that. "Do you want to ride him or something?"

I might as well have brought up some story of some horrific murder, the way she jumped back, staring at Blaze like he was dripping with acid. "You're kidding."

"Yes. Because everyone makes jokes about horses."

"You want me to ride him?" Her huge blue eyes were bigger than ever.

And in theme I saw something I adored. Fear. Good old-fashioned fear. My goodness. Wyni was afraid of horses. I laughed. "You've never ridden before?" I stroked Blaze's forehead while Wyni looked on in terror.

At last she shook her head.

Wow. That was too much. "Now you're the one kidding me."

"No, no, I'm serious. Kat. Horses are so… tall."

"Indeed they are."

Wyni took another step back from Blaze. "Forget the horses. I mean, he's beautiful. Really. But we really must get to know each other better. In fact, I'll give you a tour of the grounds."

This was my home now. I was pretty sure I would eventually figure it out.

"Well?" she asked, wide grin returning. "I thought we could have fun. And this palace is fun. Beautiful. You've barely seen any of it."

"I have. It's big."

"But you need to see it in detail, Kat! It's the only way to experience it! Are you bothered by my invitation."

"Not especially," I replied. I mostly just wanted her to shut up.

"That's good. Forgive me; I thought it seemed as if you didn't like me much."

Wyni was a quick one. I decided not to comment.

She didn't seem to expect a reply. With a final stroke of the now-worshipping Blaze, she turned to the other horse. "Oh! I forgot this one! You need attention, too, don't you?"

She couldn't even play favorites with the horse. "Why do you always do that?"

"Do what?"

"You're always being so... " I couldn't think of the word that described her, so I finished with "annoying."

She frowned. I wondered if anyone had called her that before. Had she even heard the word ever? "I don't mean to be. Am I?"

"Aren't you upset I called you that?"

Wyni shook her head, sending a ripple of waves through her perfect hair. "Not if I hurt your feelings. Did I?"

She was impossible. And I had to live with her. I sighed and reached down to pick up the brush. "No, you did not. Forget everything I said." A nasty thought crossed my mind. "Why don't you come and meet Falada?" My horse hated everyone but me.

The hurt on Wyni's face gave way to a smile as she skipped over to the dark filly. Falada's ears bent back as she raised her head from the strange new girl. For a few wonderful moments I was certain Wyni would get bitten. No such luck. Her fingers touched the smooth hair between Falada's eyes and the stupid animal lowered her head to receive a better scratching.

"She's very nice," Wyni complimented.

"She usually isn't," I said replied flatly. "I guess you're just lucky."

On the other side of the stable, Blaze snorted, offended. Wyni laughed and crossed the floor back to him. "I think he's jealous."

I chucked the horse brush back into the chest. "You can have him."

Wyni's hand froze halfway to Blaze's neck. "I can?"

I nodded stiffly. If the horse loved her so much, she could have Blaze. I might as well offer Falada. "Yes, you can have him. A little gift between sisters."

Wyni ran over to me and threw her arms around my neck. "Oh, thank-you, Kat! That is so sweet of you. You're such a wonderful sister! I must give you something in return."

I pried her off. "I don't want anything from you."

She rejoined Blaze. "He's incredible. I love him. I absolutely love him! And you love me, too, don't you, Blazey?"

"Why don't you stop dancing around Blaze and ride him?" I asked. Maybe now that she had a wonderful and beautiful horse of her very own she would bother to get on something so high.

She stopped short. "Ride?"

I raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yes, ride. It's what one generally does with a horse."

"I just told you I don't ride."

"Flaming rivers," I muttered. "What's to be scared of? Getting your dress dirty?" I gave Falada a kiss. "Let's go. You can show me around."

As a child, I had believed that there was nothing more vast than the grounds of my home. Even when I grew older and learned that my home was a small castle on a nice-but-still-tiny bit of land, part of me never quite accepted that.

The property of the royal place was huge, bigger than any imagination I had ever had. My few past visits to Linlell had showed only bits and pieces of the palace and grounds.

Wyni first showed me the rest of the stable area: row upon row of buildings, each filled with horses. There must have been at least fifty, and Wyni knew every single one by name. There were two horses of her own, besides Blaze. Thoroughbreds, I could tell. My father would have loved them.

Next were the gardens. She didn't bother showing me the kitchen gardens; who knew how long that would have taken? Instead, I was led through each and every useless, perfectly manicured plot of trees, grass, flowers, ponds, and statues. They were pretty, most of them, but for some reason Wyni felt that she had to describe her love and memories of each garden and then nag me for my opinion.

When she wanted to show me the guard houses, I flat-out refused. I didn't want to know what nice things she could say about those.

"Then we should go back to the palace," she said. "Father hasn't seen you yet today, and perhaps it would be more useful to know your way around the palace than the grounds."

"I could live outside," I said as I followed her up the road to the palace.

There was something strange about entering though one of the minor doors. Only those familiar with the palace and the Royal Family would ever dare do that. I was now part of the Royal Family, though, yet I still thought I should come through the main entrance. Still, I could not deny that feeling of pleasure at doing something so sneaky. Even stranger, only one guard was posted, a tall, muscular man with a black moustache under an uncommonly large nose. He smiled at Wyni as we passed, but did not bow.

"Hello, Brom!" she sang.

Then the guard Brom saw me. His smile vanished momentarily before he forced it back. "And this is Katrina." He wasn't sure whether he should bow or remain standing.

"It is," Wyni said brightly. "The new princess. Isn't she adorable?"

I mimicked Wyni's big smile. "Apparently she doesn't think you noticed yesterday's wedding.

"

Brom's face, nose included, went completely white.

Wyni laughed nervously. "Kat likes to make jokes." Then she yanked me through the door. "Why did you say that? He's a very nice man and I would never think such a thing of someone!"

I shrugged. "I was just telling the truth. It's not my fault that you've dumb guards. Besides, I'm simply not as nice as you."

"Well... just try to be more friendly. I know you are a truly nice person. There are so many other ways to introduce yourself. I'll have to teach you." She gestured at the little hall we stood in. "This is the east wing. it leads up to the spare bedrooms at that turn," she pointed. "The other way leads to the staircase that winds up over the ballroom. You should see it."

We walked up a narrow flight of stairs that seemed to have no other purpose other than going up. It curved around the wall, and I suddenly found myself standing on a tiny balcony. Beyond it, a giant chandelier hung from the domed ceiling above the gold-trimmed ballroom. Why gold? Though the room was dark, the diamonds of the chandelier still winked at me. I walked to the edge and looked over. The height made me rather dizzy.

Wyni hung back. "I usually don't go quite to the edge," she said.

I turned around and laughed. "You're afraid of heights, too?"

She reddened and nodded.

I smacked the polished wood railing. "You're afraid of heights with this to protect you? I can't believe this! You couldn't fall with this holding you back. Unless you did this, of course." I climbed up on the wooden railing and stood up.

Wyni screamed and took a step forward. "Oh, no, Kat! Get down! Please, you'll fall."

I looked over my shoulder and sneered. "It'll be your fault for bringing me up here."

"Please get down! This isn't funny!"

I stretched out my arms and yelled into the ballroom "I am Sandarin Bandit, here to murder you all!"

"Kat, this is really not funny. You're really scaring me now!"

"You're scared of Sandarin Bandit?" I snorted. "He hasn't been seen in this country for at least a year."

"Kat!"

"All right, all right," I turned and hopped down.

Wyni was shaking. "Let's go find Father. He may be wondering where we are."

Somehow I didn't think he cared. Though if he did, that would explain a lot about Wyni.

I had thought that perhaps Edward would be in the throne room, but Wyni instead lead me to a place she called the Cloud Room. It was actually a parlor that happened to have its walls covered with tapestries of clouds. I thought it was stupid. Mother was seated in Edward's lap, and they were laughing with who I assumed were various ministers and their ladies. Grandfather was there, too. He sent me a smile, which I returned.

"So you two have decided to emerge!" Mother exclaimed, standing up. "Kat, come speak to Edward."

I approached him and did my best attempt at a curtsey.

He smiled warmly. Such a king. "Wyni has been dragging you around," he said. "You poor thing!"

"Father!" Wyni cried in mock offense.

"It was no problem at all," I said. "I learned a bit more about her during the time."

"Oh?"

"Wyni's frightened of everything."

"Kat gave me a horse," Wyni said quickly, twirling her hair. "Blaze. He's absolutely lovely."

"Did you?" Mother asked, surprised.

One of the ladies stood up and walked over to me with a sugary grin spread all over her face. "You must be our new princess."

I frowned at her. Had no one been at the wedding? "My name is Kat."

"Be nice," Wyni mouthed.

I scowled at her, but the lady was the one who caught it. Her mouth opened slightly in shock. "Princess Kat, then."

Somehow that didn't quite ring.


	4. In Which Kat Becomes Evil

It wasn't as if Edward didn't try. He was quick to realize that winning his stepdaughter's respect and favor was absolutely necessary for creating a good show for the kingdom. That is what he decided everything was for. But he did try. He paid attention to me, spoke kindly to me. He didn't try to be my father. That in itself was nice. Sometimes, when a casual placidity fell over him, he even teased me.

Sometimes it was even fun, and I remembered why I liked Edward in the first place. That was all right, I supposed. We were just like two people who happened to be in the same family. I didn't know if that was how it was supposed to work; I had never had a stepfather before. But I was fine with our strange relationship, and Mother was happy.

He wasn't even around long enough for me to gain any experience. He was King of Daven, yes, but what could he gain from me if he rarely saw me? And yet, each moment I did see Edward was heavy with tension.

As for Wyni, she continued her Princess Sunshine routine. That actually became my nickname for her. She knew it was mocking, and once or twice she even had the nerve to ask me not to call her that. I laughed in her face. I would not give up the pleasure of seeing the hurt on her face whenever I called her Princess Sunshine. Really, how did one little name affect her?

Everyone else absolutely loved their beautiful princess.

So what if I were not as absolutely enchanting as Wyni? Was it such a bad thing? I was not pleasant and I was not sweet. I was the daughter of Lady Sarah. Or was it now Queen Sarah? I had no idea how such things worked and I really did not care.

After awhile, Edward stopped trying to be a stepfather. He saw how I acted to his guests and subjects. He heard the name I called his daughter. Perhaps he thought I was still adjusting.

But though he was still nice to me, several times I caught him watching. I noticed this, and I liked it. Mother was the second to notice.

The sparks officially started flying one morning several months after I had come to the palace. I'm not sure why the situation went so badly; I was only having a little fun.

Of all places, it started at court. I wa not exactly sure why I was there in the first place. It was just a group of stuffy old men discussing laws, taxes, and other country gossip. Incredibly boring. But Edward didn't like me or Wyni being there. It was not lady-like. But it was a chance to spite my stepfather and that was reason enough to sit through anything. Better yet, I had managed to drag Wyni along. What was more antagonising to Edward than having the good girl disobeying his rules?

We sat on the floor, Wyni torn three ways between obeying her father, staying on my good side, and looking as great as possible in front of everyone. As for myself, I just slumped against the wall.

"The trouble with Afvanan is the lack of control," a man was saying. He was sitting in just such a position that there were very few places he could turn his eyes to avoid my cross-eyed stare. Every so often, he'd pause to gaze uncomfortably at me. "It's just that it is so far from... Linlell. The people feel as if... as if they are ignored, Your Majesty."

Edward didn't notice me. 'You are able to bring me their words, Lord Dedrick."

"I am, Your Majesty. But the journey is long and difficult and I..."

I rolled my eyeballs as far as they'd go to the back of their sockets.

The corners of Lord Dedrick's mouth twitched. "And you know I can rarely make... the journey. I request that..."

Edward followed Lord Dedrick's annoyed gaze to me. My eyes instantly slipped back to their normal position. "Yes, Lord Dedrick?"

"I request that you issue... laws more specific to..."

I flipped my eyelids inside out.

"...Specific to... Princess, would you stop that?"

The entire assembly turned to look at me. I leaped to my feet. "You dare yell at a princess?"

Lord Dedrick was taken back. "No, of course not. I did not."

Though Edward did not look at me, his voice, grating, was certainly aimed in my direction. "Katrina, would you leave now?"

"For what reason?" I demanded. "What did I do? It's these idiots blabbering on about nothing!"

He gave an exasperated sigh. "You're far too old to be acting this way. You are behaving like a child. I asked you to leave, so do so."

This was too good to be true. I had Edward angry with me. It was all I could do to keep myself from leaping with joy. "Me? Acting like a child? You're the one letting Lord Articulation rule Afvanan or whatever the city is called for you. Why don't you be a decent king and speak to them yourself? And why does Princess Sunshine get to stay?"

"I'll leave, Father," Wyni said softly.

I rolled my eyes. "You could have left before."

Edward stood up and turned to me, eyes twitching ever so slightly. "Katrina, apologize to Lord Dedrick immediately."

"And not to the rest of them? I just called them idiots." With a laugh, I continued. "Now you're commanding me like a child. Yet you don't rule Afvanan." I gestured at the court. "These fools do it for you." I gazed cross-eyed at Lord Dedrick again.

"Katrina." Edward's voice was almost a yell now. I was embarrassing him in front of all Daven's sub-powers. "I told you I don't want you here."

"And I told you I don't want to leave."

"Listen to him, Kat," Wyni whispered. "After all, he is your stepfather."

"Maybe I don't want him for my stepfather!"

Edward went silent, fuming. I had touched on something I shouldn't have. Then he did something I had never imagined him doing. "Out!" he commanded in a definite yell.

I took a step back, startled. His fierce blue eyes bore into me. This was new.

I took a deep breath, not daring to show anything. "Fine then, Your Majesty. You command me, so I'll leave. I couldn't stop what was coming from me. I'll leave you bunch of stuff-shirts

to yourselves. By the way, Princess Sunshine, I also don't want you for my stepsister! In case you haven't figured that out yet!" I marched from the hall.

I was furious. I had wanted to see how far I could push him, yes, but I had not expected him to yell like that. Still, I couldn't help but feel some morbid joy and satisfaction.

Mother spotted me half-way to my room.

"Kat, what's wrong?" she asked, stepping from her conversation with some blonde ditz to right in front of me.

"Nothing," I snapped, shifting past her. There was no way she could understand what had happened. The moment of truth had come: my stepfather did not like me. I was glad of it; at least I no longer had to wonder.

She marched after me to my room. "What happened? You didn't bother Eddie again, did you?"

"I have before," I answered tonelessly, sitting down on my bed. "Why would this time be any different?"

Mother sat down beside me. "You fought with him? I thought you two were getting along so well."

"I didn't fight!" I said. "He's the one who got mad and told me to leave. Before that, I thought everything was going quite nicely. I told her the story, minus the faces I had made at Lord Dedrick. "He doesn't like me," I finished. All I had to do was rope Mother over to my side.

I wasn't sure why I did it.

"Of course he likes you, darling."

I fell back on the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "No, he does not. Edward only likes Wyni. I know that because he didn't make her leave." Wyni had been silent, but that didn't matter. "I really don't like her."

Mother was silent for a moment, thinking. "He does seem to favor her. I suppose that's natural as she is his real daughter, but I thought he'd try harder to include you, too. You said he made you leave, but not Wyni?" There was something strange about her voice, a shadow.

I nodded, not daring to wonder what might be on Mother's mind. "What do you think of her? You seem to like her."

The shadow over her voice again. "It's obvious, Kat, that you don't like her. She smiled. "I'm being supportive of you. You're first."

That made me laugh. Wyni certainly was odd. "All right, then."

"So the plan is that as long as Edward plays the opposition against you," she said. "We play the opposition against Princess Sunshine. Nothing serious, of course. But... we need Wyni on our side."

I sat up. "Sounds like a good game. It's a deal."

That night, Edward apologized for yelling. For all I know, Mother had forced the apology out of him. She could control people like that. Why he was apologizing at all, I didn't know. He hadn't done anything. But I coolly accepted the apology, all the while gloating.

Edward also reluctantly admitted that I had been right about Afvanan. Tomorrow he would leave to go there himself, like I had so wisely suggested. The trip would take several weeks at the very least. But he was sure he could trust his three girls on their own.


	5. In Which Dresses Come Up Missing

Edward's absence would prove beneficial. There would be no one to protect Wyni. Oh, how glad I was not to be in her position for the plans Mother and I had! Mother had mentioned games. I expected much worse.

Mother, Wyni, and I saw Edward off. As we waved good-bye, Mother suggested we take this opportunity for a ladies' time. "It's just the three of us," she said with uncharacteristic joy. It will be such fun!"

"Oh, let's do!" I agreed as eagerly as Wyni could ever hope to be.

Wyni blew a kiss at the fading coach tailed by dust. "Today?" she asked dubiously.

"Why, of course today!" Mother exclaimed as if she had heard nothing more bewildering. "We should relish this time while it's new, before we get sick of each other. We can miss Edward later."

"I thought you always wanted these little together moments," I said.

"Of course I love...those," she began hesitantly. "It is only that I had planned to go out to the lake with some friends."

I snorted. "You're always with Miranda or Selene or Braxis." Wyni was one of those gregarious individuals whom everyone just flocked to.

We turned to walk back to the palace. "We can have a picnic in one of those gardens," Mother commanded. "You go pick one for us, Wynafrette. Kat and I will go pack a lunch."

"That does sound like fun," Wyni admitted. She gazed off past the palace. "How about the one east of the stables with the willows and that adorable little fountain?"

"That sounds lovely," Mother replied sweetly.

"Would you like me to help pack the lunch, Sarah?"

Mother and I exchanged smiles. "I wouldn't dream of it!" Mother exclaimed. "We want it to be a surprise."

I nodded. "We'll meet you there. And don't let the scary fountain pull you in and drown you in its mossy depths!"

Wyni left the palace path and took off in the direction of her little garden. Mother and I fell against the wall and laughed hysterically.

"Minerva did this once to me. How long before we pack a lunch?" Mother asked breathlessly between laughs.

I shrugged weakly. "Three, four hours? How gullible do you suppose she is? Earth and sky, she'll probably wait there all day! No trip to the lake with Braxis!"

Mother smirked, but shook her head. "Now, Kat, that's a little too mean. But I've another idea. We always did this when I was young here, even Minerva. Let's go up to her room."

Still giggling, we darted up to Wyni's room. I had been inside it two or three times-because of both invitation to talk and a tiny green snake I had found which I had innocently assumed would be thought cute by Princess Sunshine, especially if she found it herself. I honestly had not meant for it to crawl into the bed. Her bedroom was larger than mine, much larger, and decorated almost entirely in soft pink and pale gold colours. Fortunately, the door wasn't locked.

Mother studied the room, frowning. "Appropriate colours of a fifteen-year old. Kat, I hope your room doesn't look like this."

I laughed. "So what are we doing here?" I gazed longingly at the curtains. "Can we shred things?"

"Again, too mean." She marched across the room to Wyni's closet and threw open the doors. "Dresses! It's an old game we'd always do to each other when I lived here. I was hit four times myself. Usually under Minerva's direction. But I always had the best hiding places. Goodness, I haven't done this forever! This will be fun."

"We're hiding her clothes?" I instantly joined her at the closet.

"Not all of them. We can leave a couple, if you'd like. Besides, she has that thing she's wearing now. She pulled out an armload of dresses and dumped them into my arms. I nearly collapsed under the load.

"Let's do all of them," I said.

She took a long, pale-yellow dress and slipped it over the rod above the window. Then she pulled the drapes shut, then open again. The dress had caught in the pink cloth and had disappeared from sight.

I leaned out the window with my pile of dresses. They'd be found easily enough, but they sure would be filthy.

Mother pulled me back before I could drop the clothes. "Sorry, darling, but the rules state we must hide the dresses inside the palace."

"That was in the old days. Let's make an exception."

"No," she said firmly. She grabbed another bunch of dresses from the closet. "Hide one more in here. We'll do the rest in other rooms. She disappeared out the door.

"I can't believe we're doing this!" I laughed. I laid a dress on the floor, then pulled a carpet over it. The carpet was thick enough to disguise any sign that something was under it. As an afterthought, I chucked a dress out the window. Then I headed out into the hall.

We spent over an hour hiding Wyni's dresses. We'd put one in a certain spot, giggling about it, then rush back a few minutes later to put the dress in an even better spot. Mother was right; she found the best hiding spots that I would have never thought of. One was actually folded up into a neat little square and placed behind several volumes in a book shelf. Grandfather caught us, but wound up actually helping us when he recognized the prank. "The King leaves, and this place goes to the griffins," he said.

When the dresses were all hidden, we sliced up some bread and placed it with some grapes and milk in a basket and headed out to look for Wyni.

She was sitting on the edge of the fountain in the willow garden, looking half-asleep.

Mother and I hid behind a tree to watch her, so Princess Sunshine did not see us.

"Looks like she didn't skip off to the lake," I whispered.

Mother shook her head pityingly. "It's almost sad." But she couldn't hold back her smile very long.

I peered around the garden. One border was lined entirely with short rose bushes. Beyond it spread a garden of mixed flowers with a dusty path winding through it, wide enough for a group of people to sit. If one went back along the trail, there would be a small gate that locked tightly at the post. This gate guarded the path to the other garden.

I tugged at Mother's arm. "I have an idea."

She remained rigid. "I don't see..."

"The gate, Mother!"

She looked in that direction and laughed. "Ah, yes. I see. Those flowers look like such a lovely place for a picnic. It's too nice a day to be blocked by trees. But I think I'll save that speech for later. Lead on, darling."

Dragging her behind me, I dashed over to the gate. Wyni did not look up. "It's locked," I observed when we reached the gate.

Mother winked. 'Too bad. But the gate isn't too tall."

"Shall we climb?' I asked, already pulling myself up.

"Me?"

I reached the top of the gate, stopped, and frowned. "You're almost as much a priss as Princess Sunshine."

She tried to return my stony gaze, but her mouth crinkled as she laughed instead.

I laughed also. "Well, I suppose you are getting too old for this sort of thing." I hopped to the ground. I muttered a curse as I

pulled myself up. "It unlocks from this side. How fortunate."

"That's right, young lady. I'm getting too old to be hopping around and you had best not forget it."

I pushed the gate open, hitting Mother. She jumped back, shrieked something about me trying to kill her, then crossed through, closing and locking the gate behind her. Hunched over, we scuttled down the path like bugs to the center of the rainbow garden. Wyni still did not see us.

"Do you think she has fallen asleep?" I wondered aloud as I spread out the blanket.

Mother cupped her hands over her mouth. "Wynafrette, dear!"

Wyni jerked around to face our direction. "What are you doing over there?"

"Here?" I joined in. "What do you mean? Isn't this the place you had chosen?"

Wyni shook her head in wonder and confusion. "No... I said this spot. I'm sorry if I confused you."

"Confused us?" I shot back, marching to the border of the thorny rosebushes. "We've been here for at least an hour, waiting patiently for our dear Princess Sunshine, whom we thought had frolicked off to the lake!"

"Didn't you see me?"

"Of course! We checked those willows at least a thousand times. Do you think we're really that stupid?"

"No! No, of course not!" Wyni ammended.

"No matter," Mother called. "Let's not spoil our day with an argument. I've packed a delicious lunch. So why don't you just come over here and we'll eat?"

Wyni sighed helplessly. "All right, that will be fun." She started slowly towards the path.

"Not that way!" Mother shouted.

Wyni froze and glanced fearfully at the path at her feet. "Is there something wrong?"

"Not if you like snakes!" I said.

She yelped and darted back to the fountain.

"Oh, don't worry," Mother said sympathetically. "Just wade through these roses."

"But I'll tear my dress."

"Not if you're careful. Besides," she smirked. "You have plenty."

Wyni stared at Mother in horror. "You're not suggesting I'll tear my dress, are you?"

Mother laughed. "I was only teasing."

"Earth and sky!" I yelled. "I'm starving over here. Just come on! Your stupid dress will be fine!"

Wyni met my eyes. Shuddering, she stepped between two rosebushes.

"How soon till the dress tears?" Mother whispered.

"How long till she is cut?" I whispered back.

Wyni made it past the first bushes with no problems. But she did find herself pressed against another thorny bramble. The dress caught and made a terrible shredding noise as she moved past it. Mother and I exchanged smiles. Wyni's lovely pink skirt had torn. Wyni herself gave a violated cry. She grabbed her skirt with both hands and tried to pull it free. Instead, she only lost her balance and fell forward into the bushes.

Mother gasped, face pale. "Wyni, are you all right?"

"That was certainly better than expected!" I cried, falling to the ground in hysterics. I flung the picnic basket at Wyni's feet as she crawled out, her face red with embarrassment, from the bushes. The basket landed no where near her. "There is your lunch, Princess Sunshine!"

"I'm so sorry about that, dear," Mother repeated as we walked home.

Wyni nodded blankly and pulled another piece of grass from her hair. "It's quite all right," she said softly. "I just stumbled."

She couldn't be serious.

"You wouldn't have stumbled over rose bushes if you hadn't been so scared of a little snake," I said sweetly.

Wyni blushed deeply, but made no reply except an increase in her pace.

We approached a back door of the palace. The guard took in the three of us with a casual glance, but then shot his eyes back to goggle at Wyni. "Princess!" he cried, grabbing her hand. "What happened to you? Your clothes?"

"Would you like to hear the story?" Wyni asked with a sudden pivot to her sunny self. " I had originally planned a trip to the lake with Lady Miranda and Lord Arad's son, but then the Queen suggested a picnic and-"

I took Wyni by the shoulders and pushed her past the guard. "Don't bore him to death with your silly life; he's boring enough as it is. So stop flirting and go change your clothes."

"But I-" she defended.

"Preferably something not pink."

"Now that was an interesting day," Mother sighed as she lead me to the kitchen to put the kitchen things away.

Shortly Wyni appeared before us, still in her shredded dress. "Has either of you seen my clothes?"


	6. In Which There is Shopping

I was just finishing up my breakfast by the time Wyni came, sleepy-eyed and bedraggled, to the dining room. One of her few flaws was her unavoidable tendency towards sleeping in. Though the palace cook did not serve breakfast until mid-morning, hours after I awoke, Wyni always managed to just barely make it. She just was not Princess Morning Sunshine.

I instinctively braced myself as she entered the room. The first month or so of palace life had taught me to expect as much of a sing-song greeting and a hug from Princess Mid-Morning Sunshine. But that particular morning consisted of only a weak smile from Wyni before she slipped into a chair across the table from Mother, who flashed Wyni a smile over her tea cup.

"Good morning, Wyni," Mother said tentatively. For some odd reason, she still felt guilt over the rosebush incident. "You look well."

Wyni yawned and forced another smile. "Good morning, Sarah. You look wonderful yourself."

I stood up from the table with my mostly-empty dishes. "My mother doesn't look as interesting as you do. Such a lovely dress. Was it the one found in the hearth?"

"Kat!" Mother hissed.

Wyni looked down at her clean, cream-colored dress. After a quick examination for soot, she stiffened and met my eyes. "It was the one in the soup kettle."

Even Mother couldn't hold back a laugh. "Dear, you did find them all, I hope?"

"I found most." The clothes incident had been a week before.

"Very good," Mother said in a making-conversation voice. "I suppose we can't expect you to find them all the first time. But you did rather well, I suppose."

That caught Wyni off-guard, and she reeled back in shock. "The first time! Do you mean first time as in you plan to perform that prank again?"

"Why not?" I answered with a smile.

"It was a game I used to play with your mother, Wyni," Mother said. "We didn't mean any harm. At least I didn't," she finished with a sharp glare at me.

"Of course, however, next time you'll know what to look for. And where to look. So perhaps it won't be as much fun. At least, I hope you'll know to be prepared."

Wyni jumped to her feet as if a lightning bolt had struck her. A servant had just been placing Wyni's breakfast on the table at that moment. She bolted back as Wyni's elbow hit the tray. The result was a storm of toast and tea that exploded through the room.

"Sorry!" Wyni shrieked. She immediately dropped to the floor to help the servant pick up the mess. Mother quickly joined them.

"I'm very sorry!" Wyni repeated. She placed her fingers tenderly on the servant's shoulder. "I really did not see you there, Thetis, so it is entirely my fault. Take no blame upon yourself."

I shook my head in confusion and placed the silver tray back on the table so I could watch the event without spilling anything else. It was a bizarre spectacle, made more so by Wyni's apology. Thetis had barely said a word, and that had not included any mention that it was her own fault. I half-wondered if I should help.

Finally, the mess was picked up and Thetis scurried back into the kitchen. Wyni gave a tired sigh and sat down again.

"Things are really not going my way," she said with a laugh. "I am the victim of a silly joke and a hazard to the servants within the same week."

"Maybe you were cursed at birth," I suggested helpfully.

She studied my face for a moment, shrugged, and went on, evidently regaining her good temper. "I just hope nothing will happen to me at the market today."

"Maybe you are a curse."

Mother, back at her tea, raised an eyebrow. "You're going into the city?"

"Yes," Wyni said. "I still feel terrible about missing the trip to the lake last week. Miranda and Braxis demand that I make up for it, and they are such dears. And besides, this is the interesting one. I try rarely to miss it."

Mother nodded. "Yes. I remember going once or twice, but I can't imagine much change from month to month. It's usually the same merchants with the same wares, fairy and elfin they may be. Or at least it seems so. Do you really find it that exciting?"

"Oh, yes!"

I snickered. "You could buy a new gown. Not that you need one. Oh, wait, yes you do! What washing could get the mud out of that one?"

"You did ruin the one my mother had given me," Wyni said softly. "But I know it was an accident. Surely you didn't see the mud under the window." She didn't seem to be too sure of her words. "Games can get out of hand sometimes. But why did you hide all my things?"

"I thought you liked games, so I thought you'd appreciate a small little joke," Mother said, evidently unable to let the matter rest. "It's quite an old game that was been going on among the court ladies every since I lived here. Minerva absolutely adored it."

"Hm." Wyni managed a smile. "I don't believe I'll eat breakfast today."

"After you wasted so much already?" I asked in mock horror. "Are you now terrified of breakfast?"

"I'm just not hungry. I'll go upstairs and get ready. Good day, Sarah. Good day, Kat."

She stood up and walked quickly from the room."

Mother eyes followed her till she disappeared. "I rather think she's avoiding us." She sounded almost sad about it.

"Princess Sunshine? Never. It's not in her nature." I picked up my tray for the final time and carried it into the kitchen.

I rather liked the palace kitchen, the large, steamy room full of smoke and smells. No one was ever there to notice or bother me. I wove my way through the flow of various servants before I came to the sink. I set down the silver, and then stood a moment to relish the fresh heat rising from the bubbles. On the way out, I passed the servant Thetis.

"Princess Sunshine will not be eating breakfast," I told her. "But thank-you for dropping her tray. It was perfect."

Thetis gave me a warm, naive smile. "It was a bit unusual. But did she find it funny?"

"She did. She might like it even more if you spill it on her tonight at dinner. She especially asked for it. To liven things up."

Thetis shook her head in wonder. "Lunatic girls you are. It's good for Wynafrette to have a sister. All right. To make the Princess happy. Well, I must get back to work. Good day, Princess Katrina." She walked off and disappeared into the crowd.

"I'm not Princess! "I shouted after her.

When I returned to the dining room, I found Mother with her elbows perched on the table, her head resting thoughtfully on threaded fingers. "Kat, darling," she said. "Do you have plans for today?"

I laughed dryly as I continued past her towards the door. "You know I don't, Mother."

She lifted her head up. "Here, stop a moment. I think you should accompany Wyni on her trip into the city."

I stopped and whirled to face her. "Mother!" I shrieked. "You want me to spend the day with her and her silly friends?"

"Just for a day, darling. You could have fun."

"Doing what exactly?"

"Hm." Whatever the reason was, it was obvious to her and she expected it to be to me. "I just think it would be a kind gesture."

"No, it wouldn't!"

"Kat, you had your fun. Now it's time to grow up. We want Wyni on our side... be nice to her. Be a sister."

I met her gaze and struggled under it. I didn't want to go. But then, unbidden but certainly welcome, another plan formed in my mind, and I smiled on the inside. But to Mother, I simply growled a positive reply.

"You're what?" Wyni met my eyes and gave a soft, nervous laugh.

I repeated my intention a second time. "I'd love to go to the market with you."

I had left the dining room on Mother's insistence and had gone up to Wyni's room. There, I waited outside the door like her guard while she squandered an hour on whatever silly procedures she went through. For me, however, it was a dull hour spent counting threads in the hall carpet. I also used that hour to bat around a few meager wisps of ideas on what to do to Wyni. I had been to the market only once. What would I know of its set-up and opportunities? I finally decided not to worry; I was clever. I would certainly think of something. For all I knew, the Princess Sunshine would embarrass herself. No, she was simply too poised.

I had nearly fallen asleep when a momentary glow struck my eyes: candlelight from Wyni's room. Quickly, I had stood up and demanded that she take me with her.

Wyni's eyes flew over me in surprise and doubt. "You want to come to the market, Kat? With me? Not by yourself?" She shook her head, hiding a momentary smile. "Are you sure? You've never wanted to before."

I took a step closer to her and flashed her my best grin. "Of course I have! But I'd never thought you'd allow it."

The words seemed to sting Wyni. "I would have allowed it! You know I would have. I've asked before, and you've refused."

I laughed. "Excuses! You're trying to talk me out of this. You don't want me to come."

The truth, indeed, was clear: Wyni did not want me to go. She was scared. She was silent for a long time, then sighed. "I'm afraid this might be one of your tricks."

That made me laugh only harder. "Trick? What in earth and sky could I do around so many people?"

She forced a smile and stepped around me. "I'd be delighted to have you come. We will meet Braxis and Miranda there." She started down the hall.

I fell into step behind her. "Will you be taking any of the guards?"

She stopped and turned to look at me. Her face was confused. But then the confusion broke away into a sudden laugh. "No, I don't think we will. You'll never let me live that down, will you?"

"Never."

Wyni, as a princess and the social butterfly she was, had plenty of friends. She enjoyed giving parties and having someone over for some activity or another. Whatever social thing she did, the result was simply that someone was exposed to Princess Sunshine and her glittering personality. And most people seemed to enjoy it. Though it had fortunately not happened to me, I could not help but think that there was some chance Wyni's sparkle rubbed off on her companions. At least her friends would mirror her to some extent.

I had met several of Wyni's friends on a number of occasions. Most of them were quite amiable, I suppose. Not that I would want to be around them permanently or anything like that. But as far as people went, they weren't too bad.

Once, Edward had thrown a ball for the arrival of some ambassador. I had retreated to my room, but Wyni and Miranda had noticed that I was missing and decided to seek me out. Though I had locked my door, Miranda's incessant pounding and pleading finally pierced through a pillow and led me to join the ball. I did have some fun that night.

But I had never anticipated spending an entire day with either girl.

Wyni and I met Miranda and Braxis outside the market square. They, plus Wyni, seemed delighted and excited, probably at the opportunity of mingling with the commoners. I didn't know Miranda and Braxis; perhaps it was their interest.

Miranda was delighted when she saw me. She went as far as to take my arm and lead me back to Braxis, all the while showering me with sugary comments and questions regarding how I was. "I have not seen you for so long, Katrina! You look so well!"

"I was hoping I could go longer without seeing you," I replied.

"Call her by the name of Kat, Miranda," Wyni said. "She prefers it to Katrina."

"And you can let go of my arm as well," I hissed.

Miranda laughed and blushed. "Kat, then. How silly of me." She dropped my arm, but Braxis caught my hand as it fell and brought it to his lips.

"I believe you should go by Katrina," he said in a low voice, locking his deep blue eyes with mine. I frowned at him. The motion was too passionate to be sincere. The famous Lord Braxis was nothing but a charmer.

"Cute," I said dryly, pulling my hand back. "But like Sunshine said, I prefer Kat."

"Sunshine?" Braxis wrinkled his forehead and turned to Wyni. "She calls you Sunshine?"

Wyni went peak, but laughed off the question. "It's just a nickname Kat calls me sometimes."

Miranda nodded. "Sunshine. Odd... Would you like us to call you that?"

"Oh no!" Wyni exclaimed. Then, calmer, she continued "I don't want you to have to memorize another name." She spoke at the exact same time I said that both Miranda and Braxis had my full permission. "Besides, it's Kat's name for me."

"Oh!" Miranda flashed me a smile. "I wouldn't want to infringe upon Katrina-er, Kat's name for you."

Braxis nodded. "Such a sweet thing between sisters."

That's when it hit me: Wyni had not told them about my name for her, the name she hated. Wyni hadn't said anything about me to them.

I swallowed and shifted my gaze to the noisy crowd gathering in the square. "Now that we've settled our names, do we decide to go look around like was planned?"

Everyone agreed to that, so I was thus stuck following Wyni, Miranda, and Braxis into the square. I knew this was supposed to be an eventful, anticipated market, but the square was so crowded that I could barely breathe. What I did manage to suck in was a rather unpleasant blend of sweat, dust, spices, and heavy perfume. I wanted to turn back. I could humiliate Wyni later. Besides, not one person recognized either Wyni or me. What was the point?

The first cart we stopped at held jewelry. Wyni and Miranda were in heaven. They practically flung themselves upon it, grabbing the gold and silver chains and bracelets and holding them up to each other, trying to decide what tone was the most striking on whom. The situation almost turned into an argument of praise. I considered standing next to them, upsetting the cart, and then running off, leaving Wyni to the blame, but I discovered that the cart was much too heavy. So I, too, pawed through the jewelry.

Most of the ware was, if not beautiful, definitely interesting. Certainly not with the common fashion of Linlell. The designs were too fancy. Perhaps the jeweler was from Tek. The amethyst pendant I held up to the light looked like something Princess Chanya might wear. But the bracelet I picked up next reminded me more of a bracelet Father had purchased for Mother from a merchant in Caradyn. I didn't know. The jewelry was probably from another strange country altogether. I put the bracelet down and settled on a bronze ring that wrapped itself around my finger in the form of a tiny leafy vine.

After paying for the ring, I continued to hang around the cart, the merchant giving me funny looks all the while. But after several long minutes, Wyni and Miranda made up their minds on what to buy. Still laughing, they sidled up to me.

"Is that all you bought, Katrina?" Miranda asked in surprise when the caught sight of my ring. "Just that single ring?"

"Some of us just aren't meant to show off," I replied. "Unlike you, Lady Miranda."

Her face paled in shock, and she took a step back.

"I think it's lovely, Kat," Wyni said. She glanced fearfully at Miranda and decided to change the subject. "Where did Braxis go off to?"

I pointed down the crowded square to no particular person or cart. "I think he headed off in that direction. He must not be as tolerant of jewelry as I am."

We found Braxis at a cart of knives and daggers.

"Knives?" Miranda asked loudly. "He knows I hate knives!"

Somehow, Braxis was able to pick up Miranda's voice from among the many. His eyes turned to us and widened. The cool charmer was reduced to a terrified boy. Though he tried to separate himself from the cart in pretense that he had never been there, he had been seen. Wyni and I both held back while Miranda stormed ahead to berate him. Whatever her problem was, I did not know.

"Leave him alone, Miranda," I called. "He's a man. They're supposed to like weapons."

Miranda didn't hear me.

"Miranda hates to be around knives," Wyni explained.

"Just because she's not interesting doesn't mean no one else can be. Though neither one of them are interesting." I sighed. "Nobles."

"I don't like knives, either."

"I'm not surprised." I stepped away from her to the nearest cart.

I frowned when I saw what it held. Walnuts. They were large, beautiful walnuts, but that didn't change the fact that for the life of me I couldn't understand why anyone would want to sell something as ordinary as walnuts. Perhaps they were fairy walnuts. That would explain something. I picked one up to examine it. To my surprise I discovered that it was not a nut at all, but a tiny box shaped like a walnut. A tiny, almost invisible gold hinge protruded, barely, from one side of the box. The opposite side had been cut in such a way as to form a clasp. Holding the box clumsily in one hand, I pushed my thumbs against the wood and pulled the lid open with a tiny click. I then peered inside and saw that the inside of box and lid was lined with a soft red material.

"Pretty box, is it not?"

I looked up into smiling face of a disheveled man standing behind the cart. I took him to be the merchant. He looked strangely familiar.

I held up the walnut box to the light as if to study it carefully. He had to be joking. "Pretty? I wouldn't say pretty. In fact, I wouldn't say anything close to pretty. I've never though of walnuts as being beautiful. I think they are down-right ugly."

"Ah!" The merchant breathed pityingly. "Ugly isn't a choice word for walnuts. They may not be a flower; that's obvious. But I find they are quite handsome in their own right."

The merchant had to be a lunatic. No one with a mind would ramble on like that about something as trivial as a nut. I gave a dry laugh and closed the box. "Whatever you say, old man. But I still find them ugly. And impractical."

"Impractical?" the merchant echoed, as if he had never before heard the word.

"Yes, impractical. What could one possibly put in here?" I re-opened the box and held it wide open at an arm's length to show him the inside.

He laughed, the tone supercilious. "Why, lots of things! I know it may seem small in there, but these are elf-made. By the craftsman Elboran and his students, in fact. The boxes. . . oh, here. Just put your hand inside."

I stared at him as if he were even madder than I had thought. "My hand can't fit in there!"

"Just try it. Pretend it's a game."

I sighed. I might as well "play his game". I rolled the box into my palm and placed the forefinger of my other hand into the open box. I expected to feel the soft lining immediately, but to my surprise, I didn't. So I continued to press, the bottom always seeming to be just within my reach. My entire finger found its way into the box, and then the rest of my hand. Yet the size of the box did not change. Surprised, I yanked my hand out. "Incredible!"

The merchant nodded proudly. Again, he looked familiar.

I stuck my hand into the box again. "How much can it hold?"

He shrugged. "I don't know, Mi'lady. Nothing too large. I doubt it would hold a person. But the box will hold smaller stuff: jewelry, clothes, food. I'm not sure how much, to tell you the truth. I didn't make them; I just sell them for Elboran."

I held the box up to my eye. The inside didn't seem to be very remarkable. But I was fascinated. "How much?" I asked.

The merchant named a surprisingly low price. Delighted, I purchased three. Only as I was walking away did it strike me who the merchant was. He was the crazy apple merchant Wyni and I had met years ago.

Miranda seemed to be through yelling at Braxis, and they were patiently waiting for me with Wyni.

"You like nuts?" Miranda asked, observing the boxes before I slipped them into my bag.

"Ladies admire the quaintest things," commented Braxis.

I was surprised no one asked to have one to eat.

"Speaking of admiring," Miranda said. "There's your admirer from the jeweler's cart."

"Really?" Wyni looked around till her eyes finally settled on a point in the crowd, and she began to laugh. "Oh, no. Not the gentleman in black."

"Someone was actually admiring Wyni?" I asked, following Wyni and Miranda's gaze to a figure standing across the square. Though he should have been invisible, blocked by people, he was easily seen, probably because he was so notable. He was tall and young, perhaps in his late teens. He was good-looking, though too fair of skin and too dark of eyes to be very handsome, but he was not ugly. I suppose someone would have found him handsome. He was clothed in a black, expensive-looking uniform with a cloak, like an official or a nobleman. Perhaps even a prince. He was speaking earnestly with a merchant, but every so often he would pause and look over the crowd to Wyni and smile flirtatiously.

"He came to the jeweler's cart after you had left, Katrina," Miranda explained.

I nodded, still staring at the man. "Did he say anything?"

"No," Miranda answered, her voice rather disappointed.

Wyni laughed again and shook her head. "Well, I don't want him. You can have him, Miranda."

Miranda shrieked in dismay and joined in the laughter.

"Well, I think he's being rude," Braxis said stiffly. "If he were a true gentleman, he would come up and properly introduce himself instead of playing those games."

"Why don't you, Lord Braxis, go up to some young lady in the middle of a crowded square and introduce yourself?" I suggested. "Scare her to death. So proper for a true gentleman."

"He might be too shy," Wyni said.

"He certainly isn't acting like it," I commented.

"I'm sure he's very kind," she continued. "But . . .. this will sound silly, but he sort of scares me."

I made a face at the man as he turned around again, but he didn't see it. That didn't matter; I imagined the face being also for Wyni. "Of course he scares you. Everything scares you."

It was strange that Wyni was frightened. She would have usually been thrilled to be the center of attention, and attention was something she often received. Wyni had grown from the cute little girl I had first met to utter beauty. Sometimes I wondered how she accepted such a blessing. I didn't need to worry; I'd always be short and plain. From time to time I would feel jealous of her height, her perfect waterfall of yellow hair, her grace. Next to my stepsister, I was especially dark, clumsy, and drab. So of course Wyni would be noticed, and of course Wyni would welcome that.

Braxis frowned and studied the man as if he were some insect. "If he's frightening you, would you like me to go. . . stop him?"

"Like you could do anything. I'll stop him." I cleared my throat and put my hands to my mouth. A decent scream could overpower the other voices.

"I do not mean to cause a scene!" I shouted!

"Kat, what are you doing?" Wyni asked, surprised.

I ignored her and continued. "I do not wish to cause a scene, but the Royal Princess Wynafrette would like-"

"Kat!" Wyni hissed.

"-Would like to say that she would appreciate it very much if the pig-headed fool in black would be so kind as to stop staring at her!"

Wyni groaned, and Miranda tried to cover my mouth. But I was having too much fun. "She'd also appreciate it if everyone would please leave so she can shop in peace without smelly bodies shoving into her. . ."

I would have continued had not Miranda and Wyni grabbed my arms and dragged me off.

Two weeks passed without many incidents. The time wasn't all excitement free: Wyni did have food spilled all over her once, courtesy of Thetis' gullibility. But other than that and one other game of hide-the-clothes, Wyni was pretty much left alone. Not for lack of trying, mind you. I managed to drag a few prank possibilities from Mother, but very few were actually performed. The once-strong enthusiasm had vanished like bonfire smoke. I expected something out of Mother, and there was a similar something in the way she watched Wyni. I don't what caused that in Mother; it had recently become obvious that she was after Wyni for reasons other than my fight with Edward; but as for myself, I just couldn't collect enough anger and annoyance to feel towards her. Strange as it seemed, that was the truth realized after the day at the market when I discovered that Wyni had told her friends nothing of me. I told myself that there was no longer any fun in torturing her is she wasn't going to react. At least, that is what I made myself think. There was no way in earth or sky that I actually felt sorry for her.

But no matter what the reason really was, Wyni was tortured by a mere habit that finally went away.

Which eventually led to another question: how was I then supposed to act around her? Cute and bubbly? A perfect sister?

Neither. I just ignored her.

One would think Wyni would appreciate a little peace and quiet, after the fear she had displayed towards me. She did, for several days, enjoy a degree of relief that she was in no impending danger. But then, she probably began to wonder if Mother and I weren't up to something. Before long, she was back to the Wyni I had first met, as friendly as possible. And still, I continued to ignore her. I didn't dare do anything else. That must have scared her as much as anything.


	7. In Which a Ball is Announced

At the end of the two weeks, my stepfather returned home, all disputes settled. Mother joyfully arranged for a banquet and invited all her friends, officers, and ministers in the city. Another one of her big fanfares that should have been reserved for something more important. I didn't consider Edward's homecoming important, but Mother was too excited to listen. And she had said I was first. Hah.

Edward's response upon seeing me implied that he had absolutely no memory of our fight. We hugged, and he gave me a kiss on the forehead. The same went with he and Wyni. Only she was more enthusiastic, a clear step up from my indifference. Strange that I had actually missed him. A little bit. But I had become accustomed to the palace without the King.

Mother, of course, was all over Edward with shrieks and kisses. I couldn't help but smile at the two of them. They were obviously in love.

In fact, they spent as big a portion of time as possible without dropping from good host standards talking to each other. As I was sitting next to Mother, I gave them a half-attentive ear while I picked at my food and watched the rest of the guests. Grandfather tried to make conversation with me, but I just wasn't in the mood. At least Mother and Edward were decent in that talk, discussing mainly Afvanan, descriptions of its scenery, with only a sprinkling of "I missed you!"

Finally, with a turn to what happened while Edward was gone, he asked Wyni and me what we had been doing.

I stared at him for a good ten seconds in shock before I coolly replied that we had played games. Then I turned my eyes to Wyni as if she would add more.

She made a soft choking noise and lowered her eyes. "Yes, games. Nothing else, really."

Edward frowned. "What? None of your usual lengthy summaries? Do you feel ill, Wyni?"

She shook her head. "No, I feel fine." She lifted her head and met my eyes.

I tore mine away and stood up. "Well, I'm not fine. I'm going to my room."

Grandfather sent me a pitying look. "If you feel sick, you really should lie down."

Mother looked at Grandfather, then at me, surprised. "You really feel sick...?" Her voice trailed off as I glared at her the message that I did not want to talk. She shrugged and finished with "Have a good rest, darling."

I marched up to my room, utterly sullen as if I had been a punished five-year old and flung myself upon the bed. Wyni. What in earth and sky was Wyni's problem? Did she say nothing? Was she always going to continue with her silence routine while leaving me to feel like some beast? She was impossible.

And then there was Mother. What had happened to her? She had said I was to be first, but instead transformed every prank she thought to pull on Wyni a harmless little game. Like she wanted to please Wyni. Tease her, not taunt her. Now that her dear Eddie was back, what was she going to do? Return to being a charming stepmother instead of the wicked stepmother?

I must have dozed off, because I found myself lured awake by voices down the hall. Groggily, I pulled myself into a sitting position and rubbed my eyes. My room was dark, lit faintly only by moonlight spilling through the window. A servant must have put out the candles already. That made me rather angry. I wasn't even in my nightgown! Did it look like I was ready for bed?

I rolled off the bed and went to my door. The voice was still very faint, little more than an echo.

Curious, I opened the door and stopped out into the hall. It must have been very late, for the hall was deathly silent except for the voice. Everyone else must have been asleep; only a few candles lit the hall. The voice did grow a bit louder, though. It was high, female. I recognized it as Wyni's. I tiptoed down the hall and placed my ear against her door.

"...hate me..."Wyni was saying. She used a tone of voice that I rarely heard from her, and this time it was amplified beyond the usually distress of clothing. She was practically shrieking.

A new voice came in. Edward's, sounding much more calm. "Surely you don''t mean that."

"No!" cried Wyni. "I do! I don't understand it, but they absolutely detest me. I don't know what I'm doing wrong..." She started to cry

Edward's voice melted into some gentle shushing. "It's probably nothing, Wyni. You're all still getting used to each other. I shouldn't have left you all here."

Wyni sniffed. "Maybe you're right." She didn't sound convinced.

"Here, Wyni, I'll talk to them."

Painful silence.

He sighed. "Is there no way to cheer you up, dear? A ball. Yes. You'd like a ball, wouldn't you?"

"That's kind of you, Father." But in a quieter voice, she said, "But how does it make me feel any better?"

Silence. "I didn't mean it like that."

"I know that, and I don't mean to be ungracious, but things like that do very little good."

"Perhaps it will help you take your mind off things. Besides..."

I didn't listen to the rest of the conversation. I drew away from the door and fled down the hall to my room. Earlier I had liked about a sickness, but now it had suddenly become real in the way of a bleak sore in the pit of my stomach. I had to lie down.

I entered my room, pulled off my dress, and dumped it on the floor in a wrinkled blue pile. It was my bridesmaid dress. I was usually neater, but now was not the time. I then tore a nightgown from my closet and pulled it over my head. It was a poofy white thing, rather pretty, but big on me. Wyni had given it to me with the message that the dark green ribbon slung through the collar suited my eyes better. Which eye? I turned to the mirror and tugged gently at the ribbon, more black than green in the darkness, half-wondering if I could possibly pull it out. The ribbon, of course, stayed.

My fingers trailed down the ribbon to its end. That I pulled up tightly against my cheek so that the edge sat squarely against the corner of my eye. I tilted my head to catch as much moonlight as possible. Then I smiled. The greed did seem match my green eye. It was sweet of Wyni to notice. It was a thing that Wyni of course would notice, but it was sweet nonetheless to give one of her nicest nightgowns away as a gift.

A gift. My fingers dropped the ribbon. The nightgown was a gift. A sweet gift from my stepsister which I had indifferently accepted and replied that I'd probably never wear it. Well, I had word it several times without ever giving memory to my statement. Wyni, on the other hand, praised Blaze every single day. How often did I talk about the nightgown? I almost laughed at the thought of myself starting elaborate conversations about how much I liked Wyni's hand-me-down things.

A horse was certainly a much better gift than a nightgown, however lovely. Wyni was the one who had given the nightgown; I the horse. Why should I thank her? Just because I had given her Blaze because she was annoying.

I studied my reflection in the mirror again. A little moonlit ghost drowning in tall Wyni's nightgown. Why should I thank her for a nightgown that didn't fit? I made a face, baring my teeth like a vampire or monster. The shadows made the image perfect.

I turned away from the mirror and climbed into bed. Thinking about Wyni made me absolutely ill, which made me dislike her all the more. I liked back on the pillow and stared up at the ceiling. The nausea refused to go away.

"Stupid Wyni," I mumbled aloud.

By no means did that make me feel any better. Sleep was the only thing I felt that could. I rolled over into a kneeling position and pulled the bed covers back to create a nice, warm-looking nest near the head of the bed. Too warm. I pushed all the blankets back except for the top cover and smoothed them down. I then crawled underneath the quilt and had just closed my eyes when there came a knock at the door.

"Dragon's bones," I muttered softly, sitting up. More loudly I said "Thank-you for disturbing my sleep! Do enter that I might yell at you face-to-face!"

"Katrina, it's me, Edward."

Edward! I wanted to smack myself. He had just told Wyni that he would speak to me, and here he had arrived. He must have just left Wyni's room and had decided not to put off talking to me. "Oh."

"Do you still want me to come in?"

"It's your palace," I said with a shrug. "And you're King of Daven. Do as you please."

There was a pause, and then the door opened with a flood of hall candlelight. Edward's form appeared in the doorway: tall, powerful, and completely hidden by shadows. The only light besides that of the hall came from the candle he held in one hand, and that revealed only a ghostly flicker of his face.

His eyes searched the room for me before finally thinking to look to the bed. He smiled.

"I'm sorry to have awakened you. Do you still want to yell at me? I'm right here."

I smiled weakly. I didn't feel like yelling. "Well, considering I'm sick and sleepy and just about to close my eyes, you deserve a scolding, but I am sick and sleepy!"

He nodded and laughed. "You wouldn't want to tire yourself out. Do you still feel sick? You don''t look it," he finished knowingly.

"I wasn't sick until you came in." The words were harsh, but my tone wasn't, so we both laughed.

Then I remembered Wyni and stopped mid-chuckle. "So why are you here?"

Edward instantly sobered up. He set the candle down on my bed stand and looked me straight in the eye. "We need to talk," he said firmly, a complete pivot of emotion.

I continued to play the innocent girl who hadn't an idea what was going on. "Talk about what?"

He nodded at my bed. "May I sit down?"

I shrugged.

He took that for a yes and sat down at the foot of the bed. "Your sister," he began, putting extra emphasis on 'sister', "is feeling rather upset-"

"Wyni? Never!"

Edward frowned, then continued. "I feel I made a mistake leaving the city so soon after the marriage. I thought Wyni had adjusted to the idea perfectly, but I was wrong."

"A second time," I muttered softly.

He didn't catch my words, but decided to cut to the chase. "She believes that you and your mother hate her."

I sat straight up in bed. "Us?"

Edward nodded gravely. "Yes. What I want to know is if this is true."

I stared at him, my mouth slightly open. I hadn't any idea of what to say. Edward said he wanted the truth, but what was the truth? How would it sound if I said that I found Wyni annoying? How would it sound if I said I was jealous of Wyni's beauty? How would it sound if I said that I had no idea what the truth was and I wished that Wyni would go away and stop confusing me? What was the truth?

I finally decided to tell part of the truth. "I think she's annoying, but I certainly don't hate her."

Edward nodded again, taking it all in. All the while his eyes didn't leave my face. "You say she's annoying. Have you done anything to her?"

"Did she say anything specific?"

He stared at me in bewilderment. "She said you laughed at her when she fell in some thorns."

The memory of the picnic suddenly became as clear as the present, and I couldn't help but smile a little. But I hadn't realize then how mean I had been.

"You're smiling,"" Edward stated.

I forced the smile away. "Oh, that. We hadn't meant anything. She just happened to fall. We had laughed by accident. I didn't think she had been hurt. Just an accident."

That seemed to catch Edward off guard. "Oh. Did you tell that to Wyni?"

"No."

He seemed about to continue the subject, but instead he just shook his head. "You must tell her, then," he commanded. "It hurt her feelings, and she's rather tender." He said nothing g more for several long moments, only continued to stare at me in wonder.

Finally, I realized he was awaiting an answer. ""I'll make a point to apologize."

That pleased him. "She is very tender-hearted," he re-stated. "So don't think I'm attacking you for any reason. I'm sorry if you felt so."

I considered saying yes, I did feel attacked, but I remained silent.

"I'll tell Wyni there is nothing to worry about. She is still adjusting to you and Sarah, apparently. It'll probably be a long time before we all get along with each other. I know that you're still adjusting. And Sarah probably doesn't know what to think about Wyni. It's difficult suddenly gaining a child that isn't your own."

"She didn't ask for another daughter."

"She knew she would get one, thought."

As much as I wanted to, I couldn't argue with that truth. ""I didn't ask for a sister. I didn't ask for a father."

I expected Edward to have for a reply some condoning remark reeking with blame or a too-happy assurance that it was all for the best. Or maybe h would get mad at me again. I expected any of those reactions, single or combined. Surely my biting statement was enough to cause some sting.

Instead, he said "I can't help that."

I certainly did not expect that, and it angered me. With a resentful "Hmph!" I punched my pillow, imagining it was Edward. "I'm sure you could. You're king, aren't you?"

"You do realize, Kat," he said bitterly. "You're not the easiest person in the world to get along with."

I laughed and punched my pillow again. "You're the first person to actually say that to my face."

"I thought you needed to be told."

I spent a moment studying my crumpled pillow before turning to face Edward. "I suppose that meant you hate me."

He frowned. "Of course I don't hate you. You've never given me a reason to."

The words "I've tortured your daughter" actually found their ways to my mouth, but fortunately I was able to keep them unspoken. It was best not to think about Wyni.

"As I said, Kat," Edward continued. "I don't believe there is any reason to worry. Who knows how long it will take?"

Months had already passed since the marriage. How long did he think it would take? "All right. Whatever you say."

He nodded and stood up. "That's all I wanted to discuss," he said, walking toward the door.

"Good-night."

I had already dropped face-first into the pillow. "Good-night," replied my muffled voice.

The door opened, but it didn't close. "Oh, to leave on a lighter note," said Edward. "I'm arranging a ball for you and Wyni."

For me, too? That startled me. From my eavesdropping I had thought the ball was only for Wyni as a sympathy gift or something. After all, she was the one who actually enjoyed parties, the only one who would appreciate a ball. The only one who would actually attend it. I lifted my head up and looked at Edward as if were crazy. "I don't want to go to a ball! What's it for?"

"Oh, for fun." Though it was dark, I could still make out the trickster's grin on my stepfather's face. It then occurred to me that this would be no ordinary ball. He was up to something.

I narrowed my eyes. "Who are you inviting?"

Edward shrugged, but he couldn't hide his smile. His manner was suddenly very different than it had been during our solemn little talk. "No one you'd know. Nor Wyni, for that matter. I've decided to make this event a little different."

I frowned, not following.

"I've invited a small group of young men from within the kingdom and without."

Had the news about the ball surprised me, this new revelation was like a dagger. "What?"

Edward actually had the nerve to laugh. "You, Kat, both you and Wyni, are certainly getting old enough to think about marriage. You, especially, need to start meeting some nice young men."

By this time I was on my feet. "You must be joking."

He shook his head. "Never."

I took a deep breath and sat down. "I've already decided that I'm going to marry our stable-master back at Aeryn Dova," I said sweetly.

He gave me an odd-look, then realized I was joking and laughed. "Just look around. At least you'll have some fun."

"Yes, Wyni and I will certainly have fun surrounded by a hundred princes," I said sarcastically.

"There won't be a hundred princes and it won't be just you and Wyni. I'm not that cruel." He stepped out of the room into the hall. "Now good-night again."

"Same to you," I called out as he shut the door. I nestled back under my blanket, but I was no longer tired. How could I possibly sleep after such an announcement? Wyni wasn't getting a little dance with her friends; her father was trying to marry us both off.

Such a thing wasn't shocking; in Daven's culture, sixteen or seventeen was the average marrying age for a girl. But the subject had come up so... so suddenly. Exactly how long had Edward had this plan in mind? I had thought it a spur-of-the-moment idea in an attempt to comfort Wyni. Now it was more probable that he had thought Wyni's tear a good opportunity to bring up the ball. I wondered if she knew what the ball was for. Knowing her, she'd be delighted.

As for myself, I wasn't exactly furious. Father would have tried to marry me off, too, if he hadn't died. But I had decided that I'd never get married. I would attend the ball; that would be insisted upon.

I just didn't think Edward was aware of just what it would mean.


	8. In Which Kat Dresses for the Ball

Perhaps Edward had been planning the ball for weeks, possibly months, ridiculous slots of time before he had left. Did a king not have anything better to do? That was a question I asked myself a few dozen more times after the following day when palace life suddenly devoted itself to the upcoming ball. Wyni threw herself into the thick of it, offering her opinion on everything. Did she realize it was all a trap to find us husbands? She couldn't be that dense. I asked her about that once.

She just shrugged, smiled, and said "I wouldn't say it's a trap." She did laugh at the thought, though. "It's just a ball with a few more invited strangers than usual. If you don't meet anyone you like, there is nothing wrong. It's not as if my father is going to auction us off right there in the ballroom. Honestly, Kat, you shouldn't be so afraid."

"Me? Afraid?" The idea of me being fearful was just as revolting as getting married. "And if he does auction us off?"

We both laughed over that, a rare moment of shared humor.

"But, Wyni, are you actually looking for someone to marry?" I asked, more serious.

She blushed, but shook her head. "No. Not really. But-"

"But you don't mind the ball?"

She looked very uncomfortable. I doubted she even knew what to think. Then why didn't she just admit it? "I'll meet new people. Even if I don't fall head-over-heels in love with one of them, it's always fun to meet new people. And they're all going to love the ball. I just know they will."

I didn't continue the argument. Wyni obviously liked the idea of the ball.

Next, I decided to get Mother's opinion.

"Edward talked to me about it before he told you," she said. "I think it's a fine idea. I told him to go ahead with it as long as you don't mind?" She looked at me curiously in an attempt to read my mind. "If it upsets you, you don't have to attend."

I shook my head. "No, I don't mind. I'll go."

Mother studied me a second longer before smiling away her solemnity. "Maybe it just might be fun. Even though I understand you never want to get married." She laughed almost patronizingly. "And Lady Selene and Lady Miranda have been invited, too, so you'll have companions. They're sweet girls. And Princess Chanya may be coming with her cousin. You remember her, don't you?"

I was about to reply with a basic yes when I realized what Mother had just said. "I thought you didn't like them?"

"No, I-," she started to say. Then she stepped back, surprised at herself. "I don't think I ever said I didn't like them."

I nodded slowly. The conversation, uncomfortably, ended right there.

Two weeks later, the ballroom was opened once again. With all the other royal parties, there was nothing extraordinary about that. Unless, of course, one spoke to Edward or, heaven help us, Wyni, who was determined to make herself the life of the party.

Though the ball itself wasn't until evening, guests began arriving that morning. Noisily. I understood the fact that some came great distances, but that was no excuse to be so loud. One would think they would rather sleep after a long journey.

Wyni wanted me to greet these early guests, as would have been proper, but I figured I'd see enough of them at the ball, so instead I locked myself in my room with a book. It also would have been proper for me help supervise the last of the finishing touches on the ballroom, if Wyni wanted proper, but I wasn't going to do that.

The sun was hovering just beneath the horizon when I decided that I might as well dress for the ball. Unless I wanted Wyni and Miranda to break into my room and pull something over my head for me. With a sigh, I put down my book and slumped over to the closet and pulled open its doors.

My hand moved across the line of cloth. No one had instructed me on what I was supposed to wear. I yanked at the sleeve of a formal gown. Would something fancy and black be noticeable enough to be part of Edward's little auction? Not in my lifetime. The sleeve dropped as I pawed to another gown. It was made of pale-grey velvet, sewn into a simple cut. I smiled and pulled it out. Grey wasn't my color. The grey clashed alarmingly with my brown curls as I held the dress up to my body before the mirror.

"I think I've chosen my gown for the ball, Stepfather," I sang, twirling around. Then I tripped and tumbled to the ground. The gown's long skirt had managed to wiggle its way under my foot. I sat up and looked at the gown again. Now it was wrinkled. Even better.

There was a knock at the door. I tossed the grey gown onto the bed and stood up. "If it's either Wyni or Miranda, I'm getting ready! Without your help!"

"Well, if you're changing now, I won't come in," replied a male voice, muffled by wood.

"Grandfather!" I squealed. I jumped up and sped across the room to open the door.

The look on Grandfather's face declared he didn't care what I wore. I liked that. "You were wearing that frock earlier," he said. "I believe you just said you were getting ready."

I motioned him inside. "I was just saying that to ward off any Mirandas or Wynis."

Grandfather chuckled and sat down on a chair. "They'll be up soon, I guarantee it."

"Don't I know," I said, rolling my eyes.

"I'll give them five minutes. The girls are antsy for you to come down." He nodded toward the door. "The ball has already started."

I picked up the grey gown and stuffed it back into the closet. "Ah, I'm too late then! I'll embarrass everyone as I walk in late. Maybe I shouldn't go after all. I'm so disappointed."

"No, you're going. You'll just be fashionably late."

I turned from the closet and plopped down onto the bed. "I don't want to be fashionably late. I don't want to go."

"Why in earth and sky not?"

I lifted up my head and looked at him straight in the eye. "Would you like to know the reasons, Grandfather?"

His wrinkled face remained calm. "I would."

"One: I despise parties. If I go, I'll only people-watch and be miserable. Two: my dear stepfather is trying to get rid of me. Three-"

"Hold it, hold it, Kat," Grandfather said. "What do you mean the King is trying to get rid of you?"

My expression changed to one of exasperation. "Haven't you heard? He's trying to marry Wyni and me off with this ball."

Grandfather shrugged. "I wouldn't say it in that manner."

"Grandfather!" I shrieked. "He wants me gone! He said so himself that I'm not the easiest person to get along with!"

"And are you?"

"That's not the point!"

His voice didn't raise an octave. "Then what is the point?"

I shut my mouth and crossed my arms across my chest. Grandfather was doing this to annoy me. This trickster side was a part of him rarely seen, but he brought it out just for me. I racked through my mind, searching for something to say. "The point is I don't want to go. Besides," I cleared my throat. "I doubt anyone's coming to see me. They're all here for Wyni."

I would have expected Grandfather to then revert back to his old usual self again, but he remained the same. "And why do you say that?"

I threw my hands up in the air and looked at Grandfather in exasperation. "Isn't it obvious? Look at her! Look at me!" I grabbed one of my frizzy brown curls and yanked it upwards for him to see. "Look at this!"

Grandfather studied me for a long time before he spoke. His voice was still annoyingly calm, but softer, gentler. "Do you really think beauty makes a difference, Kat?"

I let my hair fall and I lied back on the bed. "Of course not! But Wyni's not just pretty. Everyone adores her."

"Except you."

I sat up. "Yes. I do not adore her."

He smiled faintly. "Then why this jealousy? If you liked nothing about her, there would be nothing to be jealous of."

"I suppose you adore her."

Grandfather should have sides with me, but instead, he just nodded. "I've known Wyni almost as long as I've known you. I'm one of her father's counselors. Of course I love her. After all, she is my granddaughter."

Wyni was his granddaughter? That was my spot! I blinked back a sudden tear. But it was true. Mother and Edward's marriage did indeed make it so. Did everyone abandon me?

"If it's any consolations, you are still my favorite granddaughter."

Before I knew it, I was off the bed and in his embrace. He kissed the top of my forehead. "Remember, Kat: Wyni may be Wyni, but she is not and never will be you."

I smiled. Wyni would have to hear that one. She could never be me. "I'll go to the ball," I said.

"That's my girl!" He followed as I marched over to the closet. "And what do you plan to wear?"

I pulled out the wrinkled grey velvet dress and held it up. "This one."

He laughed. "Very cute, Kat. Really, what do you plan to wear?"

"I'm not joking. I'll look absolutely revolting in this!"

"I'd say you're trying to look uglier than Wyni." He took the grey gown from my hands and dumped it on the floor. Then he leafed through my dresses like they were sheets of imporant paper, stopping occasionally to consider one. The process was long.

I soon grew impatient. "This isn't my wedding! Pick something!"

"It could lead to it," he replied without turning his head.

"I'm not getting married!"

"We've all heard you- ah, perfect!" He stepped back from the closet.

He had selected a dark-green gown of some course, yet light, material. The dress had a high waist lined with gold trim, as were the elbows. "You haven't worn this one much."

That was because the gown made me look like a weed. "It's supposed to be saved for formal occasions."

"This is a formal occasion, Kat." He dumped the dress into my arms. "And don't worry; you'll look lovely. I'll see you in the ballroom." He left, leaving me to change.

"I won't look lovely," I muttered, looking at the gown. "I don't want to." Angrily, I tore off my dress and slipped on the gown. Then I turned to the mirror.

Grandfather was right. The gown did look nice. A nice-looking weed. But the color did suit me better than the grey. Smiling at my reflection, I ran a brush through my hair. Mid-brush, the bristles caught in a snarl. I tugged at it, but to no avail. Finally, I ripped the brush away and flung the stupid thing across the room. It hit the wall, and the wooden handle broke off.

I clapped my hands together, rather pleased with myself. Maybe I wasn't such a bad shot after all. I turned back to the mirror and sneered. Now I didn't look lovely. But I had told Grandfather I would go.


	9. In Which Kat Meets Some Princes

I was able to make what one would call as "fashionably late" entrance to the ball. Getting ready had taken far longer than anyone in that palace would have thought possible and I tragically found myself lost several times on the way. Accidently, of course. But I couldn't avoid the ballroom forever and at long last I stumbled into it. I blamed Fate. I stood in the doorway, refusing to completely enter the room. The chandelier had been lit and the place cleaned, but beyond that a few flowers, the room was void of decoration. That was a good sign. I had been worried Wyni would go mad and litter the place with far too much and decor The floor also wasn't crowded. Edward had apparently kept the guest list short, and there were even a few folks in attendance that I recognized. Mostly women, but familiar nonetheless. The rest were a varying mix of young men whom I had never before seen in my life. I moved from the doorway into the room and leaned against the wall. The ones from outside of Daven would be interesting to watch, at least.

I spotted Wyni's friend Lady Selene. She was surrounded by a small group of three or four young men, tossing her red curls and giggling, obviously enjoying herself. Why had she come? Out of all of Wyni's friends, I liked Selene the least. Wyni always said Selene was really nice, but I mused that if they were such good friends, why weren't they with each other? Wyni and Miranda had to be somewhere near. I looked past Selene and her companions to search for Wyni.

Though I didn't see my stepsister, I did see someone else.

"Katrina!" A dark-haired figure broke from nowhere in the pattern of guests and glided toward me, smiling as if she had just uncovered some buried treasure. Princess Chanya.

I groaned and tried to look away.

The action, of course, did not miraculously hide me like I wished. Chanya dashed up and grabbed my hands, just like we were old friends. I tried to pull away, but the girl had surprisingly strong grip.

"Hello, Katrina," she said. "How are you? I haven't seen you in such a long time!"

"Absence makes the heart grow fonder," I said through clenched teeth.

Chanya rambled on as if I hadn't said a word. "I was looking for you. Princess Wyni said you were in your room getting ready, so we both decided to wait for you. Now I don't know where she's off to. Oh, dear. But I don't blame her with all these people. I'm trying to introduce my cousin around. I had to drag him here." She stared at me for a long time, suddenly freshly seeing me. "Perhaps you'd dance with him, Katrina!"

"It's Kat," I said. I didn't say a thing about her cousin. If he was anything like Chanya, I didn't want to dance with him. In fact, I would pick Chanya over him.

Chanya's gaze turned desperate to the crowd. "I can't find him!" Then laughed. "Oh, well. Maybe he's off dancing with some lady. I hope so. Father would be so pleased."

"Pleased?" I echoed before I could stop myself.

She nodded and turned back to me. "I probably would have left him home had my father not insisted I bring him. But Father will be delighted if we find a niece-in-law here."

I rolled my eyes. "Is everyone using this ball as a marriage auction?"

Chanya stared at me in surprise before she laughed. "It seems so, yes!"

"Are you looking for a husband?"

"Me? No, not really. I'm rather too young for marriage, and my father even warned me not to come home engaged."

"You're lucky. King Edward is probably hiding somewhere selecting someone for me."

Chanya nodded. "That's actually what my father would do. He's much too picky about my suitors. Whenever he lets me have them, of course"

"Same actions, different motives." Was I really willingly participating in this conversation?

"Exactly! Can't there be a common ground? I'm worried Father will make some horrible test for my suitors."

I laughed. "What would he do? Marry you to any man who can withstand a pelting of apples or something?"

"Probably. That's where it is no longer funny."

"Oh, dear!"

Chanya shook her head, turning serious. "And yet his own nephew is practically thrown to your ball, Kat."

I shrugged. "I wouldn't worry about it. If all else fails, we can give your cousin to Wyni."

"Not a bad idea. I think I'll introduce them to one another. Again. They did sort of meet at the wedding. That is, if they can be found." She turned again to look.

If Wyni did indeed marry Chanya's cousin, she'd have to go live in Tek. The deal seemed sound to me. I raised my head and tried to search the room, an impossible task. What had I been thinking with my initial assessment? What small guest list? What had happened to a small affair?

I didn't see Wyni. In fact, the only people I could see were the especially tall ones. The ballroom wasn't what I would call crowded, but the giants managed to somehow constantly block everyone shorter than themselves. And then there was the dancing. The court musicians had assembled in the corner to play a rather lively tune. With all the twirling in the room, it was impossible to get a good look at each person. If only they would stay still!

I decided to concentrate on those dancing. Wyni loved to dance. But it was no use. I saw no one I even remotely recognized. I was about to turn away when something slid into the corner of my eye. My head snapped around to follow it, but the image was gone. Curious, I studied that area of the room. No one familiar.

Then a dancing couple moved past, revealing momentarily the man behind them before he turned around. Long black hair tied at the neck, pale skin.

I left Chanya and started toward the man. I had to get a better look at him.

Unfortunately, I lost my sense of direction the moment I left the wall. The strange man disappeared into the mosaic of people. I stood on my toes to see better. Almost instantly, a black head appeared. I dropped back onto my feet and swerved in the other direction.

A man walked in front of me, nearly causing a collision. "Excuse me, my Lady. I didn't see you there-"

I ignored him, gave a soundless scream of exasperation, and stepped past the man, who shrugged and went on his way. I scanned the room again. Where had the black-haired man gone to? If only that prince-or-whatever-he-was hadn't gotten in the way. Angry, I turned around.

The black-haired man stood only a few feet from me! I couldn't help but smile at the irony. Earth and sky, what were the chances of that? At least, I hoped it was the right man. The ponytail was the same. He was speaking to someone, and had his back turned to me. He wore a black cloak that ended above a pair of black breeches. I stared, racking my mind for who this familiar man could be.

He must have sensed my stare, for he turned his head around. I reddened and stepped back. He gave me a small, disinterested smile and nod, barely seeing me. Then he turned back to his conversation. But that quick action was enough. A pale, handsome face and dark eyes. The image burned itself into my memory and brought up remembrance of the trip into the city weeks ago. This was Wyni's market admirer. I wanted to laugh. I wondered if she or Miranda knew this man was here. Wouldn't they be thrilled? Except that Wyni had said she was afraid of him.

But why was he here at the ball in the first place? Surely Edward hadn't invited him. Invite someone his daughter didn't like? Never. But then again, I doubted Edward had met all of those he had invited. In that case, it was all just an innocent mistake.

I looked at the man again. He appeared not unlike a prince or nobleman. He was old enough, quite possibly, to be a king even. Yes, Edward had certainly invited him. I walked back towards my wall, trying to shake away any concern over the strange man. He was just one of many guests. No one to worry about.

Suddenly, my foot hit something on the ground, throwing me off balance. I saw a flash of blue, followed by the red carpet of the floor and a stinging in my nose. "Hey!"

"Oh, I am so sorry, Princess," said a male voice, sounding genuinely apologetic.

I coughed up a piece of dust I had inhaled during the fall. The servants hadn't cleaned well. "I certainly hope you're sorry!"

"I am, Princess, I am! I honestly did not see you. I did not realize where I was."

I tried to pick myself up, but it was impossible to have any power over my own legs in the confining green skirt. What was this man's problem? He was apologizing as if he had accidently killed someone. I suddenly regretted answering him instead of pretending to have been knocked unconscious.

A large hand appeared in front of my face. "Please, Princess, allow me to assist you." For the first time I noticed the quality of the voice. It was pleasantly deep, not too deep, but rich and flowing, with a slight accent on the consonants to make them stronger.

After one last failing attempt to stand up on my own, I grudgingly accepted the hand. "Thank-you- ah!" I gasped as the hand easily pulled me to my feet.

"I didn't hurt you again, did I, Princess?"

"No, just when you tripped me... " My voice trailed off as I looked up into the face of the speaker, and I gasped again.

I was staring at the most handsome man I had ever seen. Light brown hair framed a perfectly-chiseled face, lit by cloud-grey eyes. But my favorite feature was the smile: large, perfect, if not serious and rather worried. He wasn't gigantically tall, but at least a head and a half above me. Oh, fine, I had to admit it; he was very tall, and strong looking, like a warrior out of some old tale.

Something suddenly came over me. My heart melted right then and there.

He smiled again. Such a perfect smile. But this time the smile was smaller, more concerned, as if only glad I didn't appear hurt. "Princess, what were you saying? Are you quite certain that you are all right?"

I realized I had been staring. I tore my eyes quickly away and turned them to the floor. "Um..." My mind drew a blank. "I... I wasn't saying anything important."

"Something about tripping?"

"Huh?" I wanted to smack myself. How stupid I must have sounded. Say something, I commanded myself. Something half-ways intelligent, preferably. Say something funny. See if this serious one can laugh. But it was no use. Inspiration had fled. Even I could think of something to say, my tongue felt like lead.

"Are you positive you aren't injured?" The man's handsome face was now even more worried. And the smile was gong.

And here I was staring at him again. My face went hot.

"Princess?"

Finally, inspiration struck me. "How did you know I was a princess?" The words stung at my lips on their way out. Real brilliant.

His frown faded into a semi-relieved smile. "Your title was obvious, Princess Katrina."

I smiled. He knew my name! "Really?"

"Since you are Wyni's stepsister."

My smile vanished. "You know Wyni?"

His smile softened, as well as his grey eyes. "I do. You're very lucky to be part of her family."

I wanted to gag. "Um, yes."

His dreamy expression suddenly slipped. "Oh, forgive me, Katrina! I may know who you are, but I doubt you know of me. I must introduce myself properly." He fell into a grand sweeping bow. "I am Prince Rowan the fifth of Aratia, and I am most honored to make your acquaintance."

"I'm sure you are." Some of my confidence returned. But not nearly enough.

After making that impressive speech, he did not straighten up, but took my hand in his and brought it to his lips. I blushed, but was too surprised and pleased to pull my hand back. Not at all did I mind the kiss. Rowan was very sincere, a true gentleman. Compared to him, Braxis was a peasant. All thought of the mention of Wyni fled from my mind as my heart started to pound.

So what if this Prince Rowan happened to be a little serious? I'd work that out of him. Suddenly, I couldn't wait to tell Edward, Mother, and Grandfather that I had found someone. I felt something around Rowan. It was wonderfully intoxicating, a spell I'd like to remain under. Yes, that's what it felt like. A spell. It was delightfully surreal. Was this what love at first sight was like? Certainly, I'd be criticized for my former insistence against marriage, but I didn't care. Let them all laugh. I was in love, and I would be married willingly against my will, first, before Wyni-

A wave of sickness washed over me. Wyni. I had absolutely forgotten about her. Rowan had just mentioned her! How could she have slipped my mind so quickly?

I cleared my throat, which was painfully dry. "How do you know Wyni... Prince Rowan?" His name was difficult to say.

"How do I know Wyni?" He straightened up, and his expression again softened. "Well..."

At that moment, speak of a demon, Wyni sauntered up, grinning broadly, as usual, looking absolutely lovely in peach silk. As usual. I again felt like a weed.

"Hello, Kat!" she sang, flashing me her smile. She flipped a stand of blonde hair off of her shoulder. "I see you've been talking to Prince Rowan."

There wasn't a sign of jealously on her face. "I certainly have," I muttered. I shot a glance at Rowan. He was gazing at Wyni.

"That's great!" she said. "Isn't he wonderful?"

I felt as if I had been smacked with the broad side of a sword. Apparently you think so, I thought, but I didn't dare say it.

"Thank-you for the compliment," Rowan said. "I was just telling Katrina how we know each other."

"I'll tell her!"

"Indulge me," I said dryly.

She took no notice of my sarcasm. "Rowan and I have known each other for... well, it seems like we've known each other forever. Our mothers were friends. She was Aratian, you know. They were best friends, and remained so even after my mother came to Daven. As a result, we spent many of our summers together."

The sword that had smacked me turned, and the sharp side was driven into my skin.

"Rowan and I haven't seen each other for several years, however," Wyni continued. Her bright eyes were no longer on me, but focused on Rowan.

His eyes, in turn, were locked with hers. It was sickening to watch. Had this been what I had done? "This ball has turned out to be the occasion to get to know one other again," he said.

The point of the sword stabbed itself into my heart. No wonder neither Selene nor Chanya had been able to find Wyni. A blast of pain shot from my hands, and I realized they had been clenched in tight fists around an imaginary Wyni's neck. I shook them loose, then sneered at the two. "That's certainly obvious."

The spell of Rowan had been smashed into pieces. I felt incredibly stupid. I had practically thrown myself at Rowan's feet. And my thoughts... how foolish. The embarrassment stung. I had been planning an entire wedding, and all the while the groom had been best friends with my stepsister. Well, the situation was over, little harm done. No one needed to know.

"Well, I'm glad you two have met," Wyni said, remembering I was present. "I'm just surprised at myself for never having told you about Rowan."

What an idea! That certainly would have spared much.

Rowan nodded politely to me. "Wyni may have said nothing of me, but she told me about you today. Again, it was a pleasure to have met you, Katrina." Without even pausing to notice my blank stare, he turned to Wyni just as a new song started up.

"Would you like to dance, Wyni?" he asked, offering his hand.

She laughed as she accepted it. "Of course, Rowan."

Fuming, I watched the two of them leave. The spell may have been broken, but the wound remained. I had to admit it to myself: Rowan was incredible.

So why in earth and sky would I expect him to pick me over Wyni?

"He's not a bad dancer."

"Hmm?"

The voice had come from behind me. Directly behind me, in fact. I had been so busy watching Wyni and Rowan that I hadn't heard anyone approach. Surpised, I whirled around to face the speaker, a young man a few years older than myself. He seemed rather familiar. That was happening a lot. He hadn't been at the market, had he? No, whatever familiarity was there was much more vague.

He nodded after Rowan. "Your friend. The one with Princess Wynafrette."

I rolled my eyes and snuck a look back at Wyni. "Does everyone know who she is?"

The man smiled. It was kind of crooked, but still a nice smile, I supposed. "Sure seems like it, doesn't it?"

"Tell me about," I muttered.

"She seems to be a good dancer, also," he continued. "Not that you'd be interested in dancing with her. But anyway, like I was saying, your friend is not a bad dancer. Not that I'd know, of course."

I laughed. Who was this fool? "I hope not."

"What do you think?"

"About what?"

"Is your friend a good dancer?"

The question struck me as odd. It was something I'd like to know, not that I knew. "How would I know? He hasn't exactly asked me to dance. He's too busy dancing with Princess Sunshine."

The man's green eyes widened in surprise, but his eyes opened up into another grin. "Princess Sunshine? Is that what you call her?" He laughed. "I approve."

I looked back at Wyni. She was laughing at something Rowan must have said. "I'm glad someone does."

"And your friend," he said. "What name do you give him?"

"Why would I give him a name?" I asked. Rowan was too perfect for a cruel nickname like Wyni's. Somehow I felt silly just thinking that. I had met Rowan a grand total of once and here I was judging his perfection. I tried to swallow it all back.

"I don't know. Why would you call anyone Princess Sunshine?"

"Why not?"

"Maybe your friend isn't worth a name," the man said thoughtfully, glancing at Wyni and Rowan, who were now half-hidden by others. "Yes. That's probably it. Too tall, too strong for you. No girl like you would like that."

My mouth dropped open. "What do you mean by that?"

He just smiled. "What do you think I mean by it?"

"How am I supposed to know?" Several heads turned to look at me. "Go stare at someone else!" I yelled at them.

Eyes wide, they turned away.

When I looked back at the man, he was laughing. Something about his laugh struck me as familiar, but I was too angry to think about it.

"Why don't I give you a name?" I asked with a snarl.

He stopped laughing. "Why don't you?"

I took a deep breath, an attempt to calm myself. "All right. I will. Let me just think of one horrible enough for you."

"Ooh. Horrible. Make sure it's your worst."

I couldn't help but smile a little. "I've changed my mind. You don't deserve one."

He put on an expression of disappointment. "Drat. I eavesdropped on you and your sister all that time for nothing."

"Is that why you're here?" I asked, composed. "You were listening to us talk?"

His face twisted into indecisiveness. "Well... no, not really. I came up just as those two left."

This was getting ridiculous. "Then why are you here?"

"I was going to ask your sister Princess Sunshine to dance," he said, as if the answer was obvious. "She's your sister, I think. But instead, I've just entertained myself by making you mad. Let me apologize by asking you to dance."

I blinked in surprise and studied his face. The grin was still there. I couldn't tell whether he was teasing or not.

He took a few steps toward me. "Just accept!" His eyes shifted to look in the other direction. I followed them. "I have to find someone to dance with in case my cousin spots me." His face was suddenly nervous.

"Cousin?" I started to laugh. "You're not by any chance Princess Chanya's famous cousin, are you?"

"You have me discovered," he said. "You know Chanya?"

I nodded. The man rather did look like Chanya. He was taller than her, but he shared her black hair and darker skin, though his hair was straight. "I know her. She was looking for you. In fact..." I peered over his shoulder. "She's coming this way."

He spun around. Indeed, Chanya and some blonde-haired prince were headed in our direction. "Dragon's blood," her cousin muttered. He turned back to me. "You have to dance with me!"

I giggled and shook my head. "No."

"Why not?"

"I want to see you in trouble."

He peeked back at Chanya. "I'm not. We're dancing."

"What? No we're-" I barely had time to shriek before the man grabbed my hands and pushed me backwards. "What do you think you're doing?"

"Dancing," he said, suddenly nonchalant. He forced me into a proper dancing pose. "Just play along for my cousin."

I shrugged and relaxed. "Whatever. But I should tell you that I'm not the best dancer."

He stepped on my toe. "Neither am I."

Chanya and her partner passed us. Chanya gave a delighted cry. "Aw, so you two have finally met!"

"I wasn't supposed to dance with him!" I hissed. "Wyni was!"

Chanya winked at me. "I just wanted someone to keep him from running off. You're fine, Kat! Conrad, my father will be thrilled when I tell him." She and her friend went off.

I looked back at my partner's face. "So you're using me to look good in front of your cousin? That's the only reason you're dancing with me?"

He shrugged. "Well, yes. That's pretty much the reason. You don't mind, do you?"

I shook my head. "No, I'm not especially bothered by it." That was the truth.

"Good. I didn't want to offend you or anything."

"It's good for me, too," I said. "If anyone asks me, I'll just say I'm using you to impress my stepfather."

He laughed. Wonderful! We're a great partnership. Neither of us care for the other."

"Yes, we can be miserable dancing without feeling guilty."

"Miserable is the right word. You just crushed my toe."

"You deserved it. So Conrad is your name?" I asked, remembering what Chanya had said.

He nodded.

"Blow, blow, thou gentle wind, I say," I quoted, smirking. "Blow Conrad's little hat away."

Conrad groaned. "Please don't do that."

"You don't like it?" I laughed. "It's from that Goose Girl story."

He rolled his eyes. "I know. Conrad's the name of the servant boy that takes care of the birds. I haven't gotten that line for a long time, though. People would do say it all the time to me when I was little. It's so annoying."

"I'll remember to say it more often, then."

Conrad decided to change the subject. "You are the Princess Katrina, right?"

"It's Kat," I said. "I hate the name Katrina."

"Kat, then. I assume you don't want the Princess title, either?" He raised an eyebrow.

I nodded. "You're getting the idea."

"I recognized you, of course."

I squinted my eyes at him.

"I was at your parents' wedding."

I nodded. "I thought you looked familiar. I don't really recall seeing you there. Must have been out of the corner of my eye."

"I was off wandering around. I hate parties. But I did see you."

"Ah." I really had no response after that. Fortunately the song seemed to coming to an end. Now I had to think of something else to do.

He stuck out his hand. "Would you like to dance some more?"

I shook my head. "I'd rather not. No offense, but you really are a bad dancer."

"You are the same." He sighed and looked around the ballroom. "Kat, do you know how to get to that balcony?"

I followed his gaze to the little area above. "Yes. Why?"

"I told you that I hated parties. I thought we could perhaps go up there and throw stuff."


	10. In Which a Quest is Set

"Aim for that bald one!" I whispered excitedly as I leaned over the railing to point out the man for Conrad. The head stood out in the crowd, a perfect bulls-eye.

Conrad rolled his eyes at me. "He's on the other side of the room, Kat."

I gave him a scoffing laugh and shoved him toward the railing. "Like that's a problem?"

"Yes! I'm not that good at distance. Especially that distance."

"Ah, just give it a try." I ripped a piece off the sheet of paper I held in my head, crumpled it up, and handed it to Conrad.

He grinned, instantly confident, took the paper. "We're going to be punished." He shoved it into his mouth.

I laughed again and checked on the bald man below us. He was talking to someone, and hadn't moved from his spot. "Don't worry, Conrad. No ones knows we're up here."

Conrad gripped the railing, threw his head back, then recoiled forward as he spat. He stood up and sucked in a mouthful of air. "How did I do?"

I squinted my eyes. The bald man's head was as shiny and as clean as ever. "You missed."

"Drat," Conrad hissed. "Where did it land?"

I peered over the room. The balcony was situated highly enough over the ballroom, but one could still manage to spot a glob of spit and paper. Finally, I saw it. "It's in Chanya's hair!"

"No!" Conrad searched the floor for his cousin. Upon finding her, he burst out laughing. "I don't think she knows it's in there."

I shook my head, unable to breathe from laughter. "I doubt your uncle would be happy if he found out."

Conrad took the sheet from me and tore off a bit with his teeth. "I'll just hit whoever this time."

"No. You need a target."

He nodded. "How about that friend of yours? He's right there with Princess Sunshine."

"Rowan? Where?" I asked, a little too anxiously. I leaned even further over the railing. "I don't see him."

"Right beneath us." He pointed directly down. "Shall I?"

I couldn't see Rowan's face, but I knew it was him just the same. My heart started to pound again. It was his hair, however, his gorgeous brown hair. "I don't think so!" I pushed Conrad's head to the side. "You're not hitting Rowan! Why not Wyni? You'd get a great reaction out of her, trust me."

Conrad straightened up. "Your stepsister? You're kidding me."

I rolled my eyes. "With Wyni? Never. Come on, just do it."

He shook his head. "I think it's a little beneath my station to throw spit balls at a princess."

"It's a little beneath your station to be throwing spit balls, period."

"I think the same thing applies to you."

"I'm not the one throwing them."

He held up his hand. "Ah, but you're encouraging me!"

I shrugged, not disagreeing. "It was your idea to come up here. And the party is dull anyway."

Conrad leaned over the railing and spat. The ball hit some girl I didn''t know. She didn't notice. "I know. That's my biggest complaint about balls. My uncle says that if I hurry and marry someone, he wouldn't make me go to so many."

"Is that why you're here?" I asked. "To find a bride?"

Conrad nodded. "My uncle has made me heir to the Tek throne. But he only thinks it proper that a king have a queen." He shook his head and reached for some more paper. "I don't know why he bothers. I think it would be a lot easier if he just made his own daughter Queen."

I smiled, rather amused. I had accepted, grudgingly, that Edward was trying to marry me off. But then again, I was a girl. Perhaps it was natural. It had never occurred to me that a prince would have to suffer the same.

"So my uncle arranges ball after ball for me. It's pitiful. All these girls practically throwing themselves at my feet. Yuck."

"Haven't you met anyone you liked?"

He shrugged and looked down into the ballroom for a new target. "There was one girl who was kind of interesting. Pretty. Not much in the head, though, but nice and pretty. We had three balls in a row, and she came to each one. So I'd dance with her. On the third night, just before midnight, she suddenly takes off running from the palace." He gave a soft laugh. "She left one of her glass shoes behind. I don't know if she wanted me to find her or what, but whatever she was thinking, I didn't like her enough to bother. I mean, I barely knew her."

I laughed. "A glass shoe?"

He turned back to me and grinned. "Bad, huh?"

"I'll say!"

"Even Chanya agreed it was silly," Conrad said. "Maybe I should have just asked her to marry me. Then I wouldn't be here running after your sister."

I raised my eyebrow and smiled. "Aw... so you like Wyni?"

He shrugged and blushed. "She's pretty, and I heard she was nice. So why not?"

I bit back another laugh. The thought of Conrad and Wyni together was almost too much. "But you two are so different!"

"Hey, I just want my uncle off my back." Conrad pointed down into the ballroom. "What about that guy?"

I followed his finger down into the crowd. The stranger in black had moved over to Wyni and Rowan and was talking to Wyni. "Him? I don't even know who he is!"

"You don't?" Conrad sounded surprised. "That's the Sorcerer Jonas." He grinned his crooked grin. "He would be the ultimate spit ball triumph." He reeled back.

I grabbed his shoulder. "Sorcerer?" I repeated. "That man is a sorcerer?"

"He is," Conrad said. "I'm a little surprised to why he's here. He's not very social. One of those mysterious types. He's visited my uncle a few times. He lives far away. But... " He sighed. "Since he's here-" He spat. The ball landed square on Jonas' back.

"Good shot!" I applauded. Conrad's description of Jonas didn't sound too threatening. "Now let's get out of here before he sees us."

He turned back to me and bowed. "Thank-you, thank-you. Now, since you want to leave, why don't you introduce me to Princess Sunshine before the ball ends?"

"Sure," I said without thinking as I started toward the stairs. Why not introduce the two? Perhaps some twist of fortune would have Wyni adoring Conrad, leaving me to Rowan. A highly-improbably plan, but nonetheless worth a shot. No, what was I thinking? That would never happen. Wyni would choose whomever she wanted, and that would be without a doubt Rowan. It would be so much easier if no one were after Wyni.

That's when the idea came to me, while we were walking down the stairs to the ballroom. The only plan that could possibly work. Twisted, yes. Unfair, yes. But I fell in love with it.

If only I had known where it would lead.

"Oh, Conrad," I said sweetly. "There's something I need to tell you about marrying Wyni..."

This was the moment I realized that, as a liar, I wasn't half-bad, if I did say so myself. Would that be counted as a lie? Nonetheless, what I did next was apparently a fairly believable lie. I looked Conrad straight in the eye and blatantly told him the first thing that popped into my head, perfectly calm the whole while.

I was good. If only the outcome could have been done quickly. But at least I was able to get it all out. I can't complain too much.

"My stepfather, King Edward, has commissioned... well, more of a challenge for Wyni's hand," I began.

Conrad frowned and narrowed his eyes at me. "Hmm. Did he? I didn't hear anything about that. Why didn't he make an announcement before the ball?"

I didn't miss a beat. "And scare away all of Wyni''s potential suitors before they meet her? We're not talking your protected cousin here, Conrad. He was going to tell everyone afterwards."

He nodded and brushed his fingers along the wall as he went down the staircase. "A challenge. That sounds reasonable."

"You'd risk your life just to marry Wyni?" I asked in surprise, true surprise. How desperate was this prince?

He hopped over two steps, then turned to face me. "Risk my life? Kat, is there something you're not telling me? Exactly how dangerous is this little challenge?"

My little gasp of shock had presented itself quite plausible for something else. Conrad was thinking his life was threatened! I hadn't planned for this. He had asked how dangerous the challenge was. The question was how much danger should I put in? The challenge couldn't be too horrible, or Conrad and Rowan and everyone else wouldn't go. But I couldn't make it too dull.

I gave a small laugh that I hoped sounded trite. "Who said anything about risking lives?"

"You did."

This time my trite laugh wasn't fake. "You have me there. I admit it."

Conrad turned back around and jumped over a few more steps. "I think you want me to get killed."

"Oh, please. It's not like Edward created a death trap," I said. "I mean, of course, the challenge might be dangerous, but think about it: you could kill yourself falling off a horse-" I jumped off my step, attempting to catch up with Conrad, but my foot slipped at the edge of the step. I slid to a final stop about five steps beneath Conrad. "Ouch. Or a staircase."

Conrad was laughing like I was the funniest thing on earth. "I see what you mean, Kat. Thank-you for the example."

I groaned and pulled my hair away from my eyes. Every single one of my curls had flipped themselves over my head during my fall. "You're most welcome. Now how about helping me up?"

Conrad continued to laugh as he walked right down past me. "I'm not the one that slid."

"Monster!" I shrieked after him. ""I won't tell you what the challenge was!" This wasn't turning out quite as I had expected.

That made him stop. With that crooked grin across his face, he whirled around and helped me up. "That would be useful information, since I plan to leave this kingdom as soon as I can." He shrugged. "Perhaps I can leave after the ball." He nodded, pleased with his own idea. "That would give me a head start before the others on doing whatever we're supposed to do."

I smoothed out the wrinkles in my dress. "You're quite anxious to be off."

"Well, why not?" He started down the stairs again. "What else am I to do? Run after every girl who loses a shoe? This way, at least, I'm entertaining myself."

"Entertaining?" I asked, following after him. I could already hear the sounds of the ball up ahead. "You're going after a bird, of all things!"

"A bird?" Conrad nearly fell down the staircase himself. He twisted his head back at me, a surprised stare. "I'm going after… a bird?"

I nodded. "Yes. A bird." I winked. "That's not a problem for you?"

"Now I'm risking my life for a bird?"

I held up my hands defensively. "And for my stepsister's hand in marriage. And this isn't some ordinary bird."

Conrad's face told me plainly what he was thinking: Princess Katrina was an idiot. "Kat, I don't mean to sound rude, but it's a bird."

"Not just any bird!" I said happily.

Conrad spread out his arms in confusion. "It's a bird!"

I sighed, hoping I sounded supercilious. "Poor fool. Like I'm trying to say, this is no ordinary bird. It belongs to a great wizard-"

Conrad snorted. "Like Jonas?"

I shrugged. "I guess so. For all I know, he's the owner."

"No one knows where the bird is?"

I nodded, my expression perfectly calm.

He sighed and shook his head. "Let me understand this: I'm going after a bird that no one knows the location of? And there is a possibility I could get killed?"

"You have it!" I clapped my hands gleefully. "Now get to it before everyone else!"

He nodded and chewed his lips thoughtfully. "I suppose that's all right. At least by me. But if you don't know where the bird is... how do you know there's a bird?"

"My stepfather is really smart."

Conrad seemed to accept that. Earth and sky, I was good.

Conrad skipped the last three steps and landed gracefully on the floor. "See? I con do it!" He dipped into a bow, almost mocking of Rowan's.

I laughed and carefully took each step on the way down. "I should have tripped you."

"Yes, but you didn't." He tore an invisible sword from his belt and swiped the air with it. "And in the same fashion I will rescue your bird and win the hand of fair damsel Princess Sunshine!"

I smacked him playfully on the back of the head. "You'll get a bird by jumping down a flight of stairs?"

He laughed and rubbed the spot where I had hit him. "You're just jealous because you don't know how."

I folded my arms over my chest. "It would certainly be a skill to do something like that. Maybe I'm just foolish, but I fail to see the logic."

"There isn't any. That's why it's a skill." He started walking towards the ballroom. I ran up to his side, kicked his shin, tripping him before running ahead.

"Hey!" he shouted as he pulled himself up. "What was that for?"

"Training!"

Conrad caught up to me at the ballroom's door. He stuck his head in and groaned. I didn't blame him. The ball was almost over, and it didn't look like anyone had left. A break in the guests would have been welcome. He sighed and pulled his head out. "I don't think I'm going to go back in there. Chanya's probably looking for me."

"I thought you wanted to meet Wyni."

He shook his head. "I can get an early start this way. Besides, I'm not too interested in going back into the crowd."

"It's not that bad!" I gave him a shove, but he didn't budge. "Just go in!"

"No, thank-you. Think of it this way: I can be the mysterious and strange hero when I return with the bird." He paused a few moments, relishing the idea. "Now that would be dramatic!"

I couldn't help but laugh. Conrad was absolutely full of himself, at least at that moment. But it was conceit in an appealing way. "You'll always be strange, Conrad. I wish you luck." Sucker.

He was surprised. "Luck for what?"

"Getting the bird. Don't worry, you'll do fine."

"Yeah. The hardest part will probably be finding the thing." He bowed again, then smiled at me. "I guess this means farewell."

"I guess it does," I said, returning the smile. "It was nice to meet you." I swallowed back a laugh. "I hope you find the bird. You'd be a good brother."

"I still can't believe I'm searching for a bird," he muttered, mostly to himself. "Oh, well. Is there another way out?"

"Down the hall." I pointed. "Watch out for the guard with the big nose. You know, this could be a good way to get your uncle off of your back, at least for a time."

"Very true," Conrad said. "I hadn't thought of that." He turned away from the ballroom. Then he stopped. "Kat, promise me you won't tell my cousin where I'm going!"

For a moment I considered telling him "no". But it would be an excellent trick to Chanya if she thought her cousin was missing. "I will."

He smiled. "Thanks." With that, he disappeared down the hall.

I gave a small wave and turned back to the ballroom. One down, many to go. Others had to be told about the bird.


	11. In Which Princesses Actually Talk

As I had expected, everyone in the ballroom was quite curious to learn about the task to earn Wyni's hand. Apparently, she was very popular, and the suckers made themselves out to be willing to believe whatever I said, as long as it involved my stepsister. It was almost too easy, but still fun. All of my strength went directly to fighting back laughter and keeping my expression serious.

The secret was not telling everyone at once. I wasn't that stupid.

I wasn't worried they'd figure out that what I was telling them was a lie. But I wouldn't get anyone to go on the goose chase if they didn't feel themselves special. Each boy would have to think that I had selected him from the dozens of others because he alone was worthy of marrying Wyni. The truth was that anyone I accidently missed was unique. I'm surprised they didn't attack each other right then and there in the ballroom for all the suspicious glances they could have cast.

The process was simple: I would casually saunter up to some boy, suddenly put on my best nervous look, and pull him aside. Then after putting on a show of making sure no one was eavesdropping, I would recite the whole story about the wizard's magic bird, the one I had told Conrad. The one that Edward wasn't going to mention for some time. He would eat it up like cake. Then I would warn him not to mention it to Wyni, as the idea of people risking their lives for her sake greatly upset her, nor to Edward, because I wasn't supposed to tell anyone and would be ever so grateful if no one found out.

"I promise I won't tell a soul," promised one boy, a short and squat noble's son who didn't seem to have the foggiest idea why he was at the ball in the first place.

I gave an over dramatic sigh of relief and put on my sweetest smile. "Oh, thank-you! My stepfather demands no one know about the challenge yet, but my poor sister... " I made myself cry. Poor sister my foot. "My poor sister... I'm worried... I want someone to win for her."

The noble's son smiled smugly. "Well, yes. I suppose I'm strong enough and brave enough to do this." He reddened and frowned. "As long as I have a little help."

I giggled as if he were the most charming man on earth. "And what better help could you have than a good head start? Why, I bet that you will retrieve the bird and be back before anyone else sets out!" I gestured to the room of men who had all received the same story.

"Of course I will!" he said proudly.

"Lower your voice!" I hissed, smacking my hand over his slobbery mouth.  
He nodded and took a step back. "By the way, Princess, why did you pick me?" he said in a barely-audible whisper.

"Don't call me princess." I smiled broadly and started to skip away. "Look at yourself. Isn't it obvious?"

Leaving the noble to strut around, I decided that now was the time to find Prince Rowan. He, if anyone, had to be told. Oh, he would get the same story, to an extent. But I wouldn't be lying to him. The wizard's bird was a lie and would always be a lie. There was no changing that. But out of all the men I had said were special, only Rowan would be truthfully so. He would receive actual help from me. Perhaps... perhaps that kindness would be enough to make him fall in love with me. It was a stupid thought, but would I be humiliating myself in front of him? No. I figured if it didn't work, it didn't work.

I cut through the center of the room, hoping to catch Rowan dancing with someone who wasn't Wyni. Like that was plausible. Then again, it wouldn't be a problem if so. Wyni would doubtfully suspect anything if I dragged Rowan off to speak with him. Maybe, more preferably, he would just be talking with someone.

A figure in black walked in front of me.

"Ah!" I gasped as I jerked to a stop.

My almost-collision paused just long enough to throw me a surprised glance. "Oh, forgive me, Princess," he mumbled politely before hurrying off.

"Go run into someone else!" I yelled after him. "And don't call me princess!"

Several people stared at me. I scowled and continued. "Like these fish!"

The figure had been Jonas. Jonas the Sorcerer, no longer looking so charming. His pale face was flushed, his lips tightened in a frown, and his dark eyes were glowing in anger. Conrad had said Jonas was harmless. I could use his anger as an excuse to yell at him. He didn't even respond or acknowledge me as he rushed away.

"Jerk," I muttered. I dropped off to the edge of the room, hoping to spot Rowan that way. I'd tell him a revised story, one where he would need my help. I followed the perimeter of the room.

A good twenty feet off, I practically ran into Rowan. But he wasn't alone.

In a secluded area of the room, a shadowy spot the chandelier's light didn't quite hit, Rowan and Wyni stood together, talking softly. Talking was an overstatement. Their lips didn't move much, Wyni's hardly at all. Her face was red, and her mouth was turned up in an embarrassed smile. Every so often, she'd seem to say a tiny phrase and laugh softly. Rowan would then join her.

I stopped where I was and watched intently. I was too far off for them to see me, if they were actually noticing anyone besides each other. They were standing awfully close.  
Rowan was speaking now. How I wished I knew what he said!

And then, right before my eyes and probably all the eyes in the room, for all I knew, Rowan leaned over even closer to Wyni and kissed her.

I don't think I'll ever know how I managed to keep myself from running up and strangling Wyni right there in the ballroom. Either an act of willpower or an effect of shock. There in all likelihood isn't a difference. Was I surprised? How I remembered feeling so stupid upon first meeting Rowan. Still, one hour after witnessing the kiss, I was pounding my fists on Wyni's bedroom door, demanding to speak with her. Speak? Hah. I wanted to kill her. I had left the ballroom right after the kiss, but now what even I admitted to be stupidity was welling up inside of me.

She answered the door after only a few pounds. "Yes?" She was surprised to see me, maybe even a little nervous. One hand clenched tightly the edge of the door, ready to slam it shut if necessary. She was already dressed down for bed, wearing a billowy white nightgown. She held a brush in the hand that wasn't on the door, and had it frozen mid-swipe through a strand of golden hair. I half-wondered if she had forgotten what she was doing. "Oh. Hello, Kat." She managed a tiny smile.

I didn't return the smile, but narrowed my eyes and glared. What was I thinking? "Hello, Wyni."

Her smile vanished.

How much time we spent staring at each other in the doorway, I didn't know. But it seemed like an eternity, or, because of my mood, even longer.

Finally, Wyni remembered her renowned manners. "Um. . . was there something you wanted?"

"Your neck," I muttered.

"Excuse me?"

"I want what you have!" I said in a louder voice. The announcement surprised even me, probably because of just how true it was. The stupidity for running up here, for being so mad about what should have been so obvious. I still wanted Rowan.

Her mouth opened slightly, and she momentarily lost her balance. It would have been nice of her to fall, but unfortunately, she didn't lose that much balance. "What. ..what I have? What do you mean?"

"I saw you with Rowan!" I didn't know what kept me from her throat.

Wyni blushed deeply and smiled. "Did you?" she said softly.

"The whole room did!" That wasn't necessarily true - I was most likely the only one that had noticed the couple- but it sounded good to say. Why not embarrass Wyni as much as possible?

She went even more red. "Oh, dear. I didn't think-"

"Of course you didn't think!" I yelled, cutting her sentence short. "You didn't think about what I would think! You never think about anyone but yourself!"

"That's not true." She pulled the brush from her hair. "I-"

"Then why did you steal Rowan for yourself?"

There. That was it. It was out. My fury over Rowan and Wyni - together - was out in the open. How would Wyni react? I didn't even want to think of it. But I was in the position of having no choice but to see. Would she play the sweet and innocent as usual? Her self-proclaimed stepping stone?

She shook her head slowly, her face a visage of bemused confusion. "Steal? Kat, what are you talking about?"

"You took him!" I shrieked. I was being horribly loud. A guard was going to burst into the scene any moment. I sucked in a mouthful of air and turned my concentration to calming myself. As if that were possible.

Wyni still had no idea what I was screaming about. Of if she did, she made no sign. Instead, she asked innocent "Took him? From where?"

"You have everything! You have the adoration of everyone! Why do you need Rowan? Why not someone else!"

Wyni didn't answer for a long time. She just stared at me, bewildered, as if she was looking at a ghost but didn't know quite what it was. When she finally spoke, her words were in a low voice, serious.

"You like Rowan, don't you?"

Like him? Seeing Rowan had been love at first sight, at least on my part. "Of course I like Prince Rowan."

The brush dropped from Wyni's hand and clattered to the floor.

I shook my head in an attempt to gather my thoughts. "It's more than a little adoration. I've never felt anything like what I felt when I first looked at him. I didn't know it was possible. Love at first sight, you've heard of that? Of course you've heard of it. But that's what I experienced." I raised my voice a little. "And I probably could have had him! Rowan was talking to me! He helped me up! He's the most georgous creature I've ever seen! And then, but of course, the adorable Princess Sunshine waltzes up and of course he runs to you."

Wow, I was full of it.

Wyni was trembling now.

I pretended not to notice. I stepped even closer to her and continued.

"You could have anyone, Wyni. You know that as well as I do. So why'd you pick Rowan? Did you think I wasn't good enough for him?" I became more urgent. "Why did you choose Rowan?"

"Because I love him." Wyni's voice was surprisingly clear and loud. She was still trembling. Out of fear. I could see it her in her face. She was afraid of what she had just said, afraid of what she thought I might do to her. It was the emotion she always felt toward me, fear was. The realization made me feel sick. But there was something else about her. I hesitated to call it determination, but that was what it was. She was determined to tell me what she thought. Her words were sincere.

"I love Rowan."

I was too stunned to speak.

"I love Rowan," she repeated. "I love him and I want to marry him. I'm sorry if it hurts you, but I can't deny it. I can't help but love him. He's so wonderful! If he hadn't come tonight, if I hadn't seen him again, I don't know what would have become of either of us. I'm so glad he came! Kat, you said you liked him. I love him, and he loves me."

I couldn't believe my ears. What in earth and sky was I supposed to say to that? I suddenly realized that I was crying. I sniffed and wiped my eyes on the sleeve of my nightgown. "See what I mean?" I whispered. "You have everything. Now you have Rowan."

"Kat-"

"I hate you." I turned away from the door. "I hate you."

"You've always hated me," Wyni's voice replied. "Why do you wait till now to actually tell me?"

That made me stop. "I haven't always hated you," I said truthfully. "Just now."

"You've always acted like you hated me. You and your mother."

The memory of Wyni's complaints to Edward flooded back into my memory. My breath choked itself in my throat as I turned back around to face Wyni.

She stood out in the hall, her bedroom door closed behind her. She, too, was crying. Of course.

"You honestly thought we hated you?"

She nodded. "You have never acted otherwise."

The sick feeling returned to my stomach. "Oh."

A long time passed as we stood there in the hall. We seemed to be doing an awfully lot of staring that night.

Wyni was the one who finally broke the silence. "Would you like to talk? I offer my room."

"I don't want to talk!" I snapped, but Wyni already had the door opened and was waiting for me to enter.

"Kat," she pleaded.

Still grumbling, I entered the room.

The room wasn't much different from the last time I had been in it, the day Mother and I had hid Wyni's clothes. But it did look somewhat new. Most likely because it was nighttime. She had a small fire going in the hearth, but anything looked strange in firelight.

The bed was my original choice to sit down on, but within a few steps I saw that there was already something there. Across one of the pillows lay a large pink rose. A gift from Rowan. Very romantic. It was sickening. There was a chair, but I just plopped down on the floor. Wyni would just tell me sitting on the bed was improper anyway.

"Are you going to sit on the floor?" she asked in surprise.

"What do you think?" I said with a shrug. "It looks like I am."

"Um…"

"Do you have a problem with that?"

"No, I guess not," she replied. "If that's what you find comfortable."

"Well, it is," I said with a sneer.

To my surprise, Wyni actually laughed. Not a loud laugh, but a laugh just the same. "Of course you'd sit on the floor. I should know you by now."

"Perhaps you should. Maybe you just don't know me as well as you think."

"Maybe you don't know me."

"What is there not to know about you?" It was difficult to be nasty when Wyni was standing above me, but I managed. "You're Wyni. Just this perfect, chipperish Princess Sunshine who adores and is adored by everyone."

Wyni frowned, then sat down on the floor, opposite of me. "Is that why you hate me?"

"Is there an echo?" I asked, annoyed. "I told you already: I don't hate you."

"Why do you always act like you do? You're rather believable."

"Are you deaf?" I yelled. "I don't hate you!"

She started again before I had even finished speaking. "It's alright, Kat. You can tell me the truth."

She was impossible. "I am!"

She shook her head. "Please, just tell me why you hate me and I'll try to do something about it."

I opened my mouth to yell at her again, but I immediately slammed it shut. "Change yourself?" I said instead. "You're joking, right?"

She blinked, confused. "No…"

I buried my face in my hands and took a deep breath. "No, Wyni, please just listen to me for a moment. You're supposed to be a good listener, aren't you?"

"I guess so."

"Great. Perfect. Listen." I locked my eyes with hers. "For the final time, I don't hate you. Dislike you, yes. Dislike you a great deal, yes. But there is a fine line between hating and disliking someone."

Wyni narrowed her eyes slightly, scrutinizingly. "Do you think you have ever crossed it?" She said it almost as an accusation.

Whatever the statement was meant as, I didn't know how to reply to it. Crossed? What in earth and sky was meant by that? I certainly had never truly hated her. That could be said honestly. Sure, she was annoying and perfect, but had I ever really hated her? Never! Wyni certainly couldn't have felt anything like that. Could she have?

"You're sort of asking for me to hate you," I said.

She didn't understand me. Or just decided to ignore me. Either one. "You always have seemed to hate me. Do you know what that's like?"

"What are you trying to do now?" I retorted. "Share all your emotions with the world?"

That appeared to actually strike her. "Why do you always. . ." her eyes dropped to the floor.

"Always. . .?" I held out a hand, gesturing for more information. "Always what?"

"Never mind."

"Is it not rude to not finish sentences?"

"Is it rude?" She lifted her eyes, flustered.

"I haven't any idea."

Despite everything, I suddenly belted out a laugh.

"What's so funny?"

I shook my head and smiled. "You. Just you. I don't think I'll ever understand you. Ever."

Wyni forced a smile. "I don't think I'll ever understand you, either."

I glanced back toward the door. I hadn't meant for this to go on so long. I had not idea what Wyni wanted to talk about, but if I wanted to go back to my own room, it would be wise if I just played along. I breathed in and blew all the air out. "So exactly why do you think I hate you?"

Wyni hesitated before speaking. Probably gathering her thoughts. "I don't mean to be forward, Kat, but it's rather obvious. At least to me. Do you think I didn't notice everything you did to me? Did you think I assumed those were all accidents?"

It was all I could do to keep my jaw from hitting the floor. So she hadn't been oblivious to everything. Apparently Princess Sunshine had not been given enough credit. I wiggled, uncomfortable. "I'm proud of the snake."

She forced a smile. "I'm sure you are. But I thought it was an incredibly mean thing to do. Also, do no think I haven't noticed the way you've been treating me when you weren't performing those horrid pranks. And Sarah, too." She tossed her head, her blonde hair whipping around her. "I don't know if you mean it to be this way, but it really hurts when no one likes you. I tried to be my best toward Sarah and you ever since the wedding-"

"Tried?"

She nodded. "Yes. Tried. I thought that if I was kind to you, you'd like me, and we wouldn't have any problems as. . . a family. I thought it'd work out and everything would be all right. I…"

My eyes widened. This I hadn't known. "You're joking. You were ecstatic."

"No, I'm not joking. Think about it. Had you been in my place, would you have wanted a new mother?" Her voice softened. "Did you want a new father?"

"How did you know that?" I whispered.

"It was quite obvious. I didn't want to say anything, thought. But I did notice your lack of excitement. But I thought if I tried to be optimistic, you'd go along as well. I mean, it was sort of nice. Father was actually happy for the first time since my mother died. I assumed everything was for the best."

"You assume too much, Wyni," I said. "As always."

"I suppose you're right," she replied. "I assumed it wouldn't be so bad. What I imagined - unrealistic, of course - was just horrible and nightmarish, but I told myself I was just being silly. Wouldn't everyone be afraid of joining a stepfamily? I assumed I was normal!"

"We exceeded your expectation," I said flatly, finishing the thought for her.

"Yes, exactly." The she realized what she just said. "Well, no, not exactly. But you and Sarah. . . I don't know how to say this. . . you are. . .."

"Awful?"

Wyni seemed confused. "Yes. That's it. But why are you saying it yourself?"

"Don't you think I know how I've been?" Again, I felt very sick. The guilt had been horrible enough through my eyes. Wyni's complaints to Edward had been unbearable. Now I was hearing my actions from the mouth of the victim. I didn't know how to even begin to define that.

"Back to my original question," Wyni continued. Her previous confidence was all but gone. She was speaking all right, but the words were forced and painful in spite of articulations. "Why did you treat me like that? Do you have any idea what it feels like?"

"Do you have any idea what it feels like to be me?" I hissed.

That took Wyni back. "Kat, that's not fair. You know I don't."

I shook my head. "Fine then. Don't answer. You don't have to. Forget I asked the questions. Do you want to know why I'm so mean to you?"

"Yes."

"Because I am."

That shut her up. It shut her up so much that her eyes started to tear. The sight would have been almost pathetic if she wasn't so pretty. She looked like some tragic heroine.

What a pained sigh, I continued. "That's the answer for me. My mother. . . I can't answer for her."

Wyni shrugged, suddenly no longer in the mood to really talk. "I understand her even less. I thought maybe since she's an adult, she'd be more responsible. Father says he's just confused. She doesn't know what to make of having another daughter. I suppose I can try and understand that." She smiled and blinked back her tears. "I know the feeling."

I really wanted to leave. This was a side of Wyni I had never seen, and I wasn't sure I knew what to make of it. Should I be impressed that there was more to her? Should I be even further annoyed? Should I care? I couldn't care. I just had to leave her alone. That would make me feel better.

"Would you like me to talk to her?"

Wyni reverted back to her old self. "Would you, Kat? You're such a dear!"

I stood up and quickly walked toward the door before she could hug me. "Sure, I"ll do that." I grasped the knob and turned. I couldn't leave yet. "By the way, Wyni," I said slowly. "I'm supposed to . . . I mean, I want to apologize-"

Wyni looked ready to faint. With surprise, no doubt. I was apologizing. She must have not caught the accidental "Supposed to".

"-apologoze for the thing with the thorns," I finished.

"Oh. That's sweet of you."

"We didn't know you'd fall," I muttered, opening the door, "Goodnight."

"Goodnight," she said sweetly.

I stepped outside.

"Wait!"

I cursed silently and pulled my head back inside the room.

Wyni stood before the door, playing with her hands. "This doesn't have anything to do with out conversation," she said. "But I was curious: Did you perchance meet Lord Jonas tonight?"

I grinned. "The sorcerer? Your admirer?"

She nodded and frowned. "That's him. Well, I don't think I like him."

"You don't like someone?"

She shrugged. "He just scares me. Also, I don't mean to be a judge of character, but I don't think he's really an admirerer in any way possible. I. . . I don't know what to think. What did you think of him?"

I rolled my eyes. "He didn't talk to me, so I don't really care." I shut the door.

.


	12. In Which Mother and Daughter Fight

My hand was on the knob of my bedroom door, in the process of turning it, when it popped into my head to actually go and talk to Mother. My first reaction was to simply shake it away. After all, I had told Wyni that to get her off of my back. She didn't really believe I would do it, did she? Then again, I indeed had told Wyni I would speak to Mother. I owed her seomthing. Cursing Wyni, I let go of the door knob and went to look for Mother.

I found her in her bedroom, chattering on about nothing to a lady-in-waiting who was braiding her hair at the vanity. Mother had only a couple of ladies-in-waiting. She said she couldn't get use to the idea of having even more servants, but Edward had insisted it was only proper. The lady-in-waiting, an older woman named Attolia, was chattering back to Mother. Entering the room was like walking into the middle of a big gossip fest.

Neither woman saw me until I had slunk to a point about ten feet away from the vanity. Attolia stood behind her, twisting strands of her hair into a single large braid. It was a wonder Attolia could braid and talk at the same time.

Mother saw my reflection in the mirror, and moved her head slightly to send me a warm smile. "Kat! What are you doing up so late? I thought you would've been tired, darling?"

"Why are you up?" I asked

Attolia shook her head. "Princess Kat is still growing and needs all the rest she can get."

"Listen to Attolia," Mother said.

"How can I rest if I'm not tired?" I asked.

Attolia held up her pointer finger and shook it at me like I was at trial. "Well, then if you aren't tired, you might be if you would go and lie down."

Mother put her hand to her mouth to block a giggle. "I think you best do as she says, darling. It's past midnight."

Attolia gave a small cry. "It is? Heavens, I didn't realize it was so late!"

I shrugged and sat down on the floor. "It's not my fault the ball went so late, is it?"

Mother rolled her eyes. "I would have thought you would have snuck away from the ball and gone to bed early."

"Apparently I didn't."

"Oh, my Queen, don't criticize the Princess for taking some time to socialize and enjoy herself!" cried Attolia with a complete pivot in view. "You said you wished she'd socialize more."

"Yeah, Mother, don't criticize me," I said, winking at Attolia. 'Yes, I had a simply wonderful time at the ball."

"I hear sarcasm, Kat."

"Eh, the major portion is sarcastic." I absent- mindedly traced a pattern on the floor with my finger before again meeting Mother's face. "Actually, I wanted to talk to you about something."

Mother nodded, replacing a loose strand of hair back into the braid, probably anticipating little more than another dish of gossip.

I glanced at Attolia, who too was waiting for me to speak. "Um. . . can she go?"

Both seemed surprised, but Mother said "Just a few minutes, Attolia."

Obviously disappointed at being excluded from the conversation, the lady-in-waiting bustled from the room.

Mother watched her go, then smiled at me. "All right, darling. What have you to say?"

Right then, it struck me exactly what I was about to do. Which was basically demand what she had against her stepdaughter. In truth, I hadn't the slightest plan on how to handle this. I finally decided to just ask her flat-out. "Why do you hate Wyni?"

Mother, finished the braid herself, snagged a finger in her hair and created a horrible tangle. That was quite a blemish in comparison to Attolia's neat plait. She didn't look at me directly, but the shocked face reflected in the mirror gave fairly the same experience. It was almost humourous. I reminded myself to tell Mother about her face later. After several too-long seconds, it became obvious I had surprised her too much to get a reply. Perhaps I had been rather blunt. So I repeated the question. This time, she twisted around in the chair so she was facing my direction. Her eyes were still wide and the knotted hair poked precariously from her braid. She pasted on a smile, noticeably uncomfortable. "Why do I hate Wyni? Whatever do you mean?"

"Er…" Such articulations. I realized I was fidgeting and forced myself to stop. The blame shifted to Wyni. "Well, I was just talking to her before I came to see you and she asked me to ask you why you hate her." I studied my nails. "Is that a little too blunt?"

"I'd say so!" Mother replied loudly.

"Sorry. So… are you going to answer the question?"

"Wyni's interested in the way we've been treating her," she stated.

"That was the first thing she said. I was surprised. I guess she's smarter than she lets on." I tried to smile, but making fun of Wyni just wasn't entertaining anymore.

Mother didn't return my half-hearted smile. Instead, she just frowned. Try as I did, I couldn't read much of it. "Kat," she said solemnly. "Can I ask you a question?"

"Even though you didn't answer mine?" I shrugged. "Go right ahead."

She took a deep breath and held it for a very long time before resuming speaking. "Exactly why were you talking to Wyni?"

"It's a long story. A really long story." I gritted my teeth and looked down. "I'd prefer not to tell it right now."

She nodded, accepting my answer. "All right. I was just curious. I thought you hated her."

"No, I don't," I replied without even thinking.

Mother gasped. She tried to hide it, but I had heard her all ready.

"What's wrong?" I asked.

She shook her head. Too quickly. "No, darling, nothing is wrong."

"Are you sure?" Somehow, I didn't quite believe her.

She nodded again. Also too quickly. "Yes, I'm sure." She was smiling now, a surprised, bewildered smile. She picked up a small bottle of scented lotion and poured some into the palm of her hand. "I think it's wonderful you're talking and being friendly with Wyni."

"I suppose so," I said. I made a face. "She's nice, I guess."

"That's good." It was time to get sneaky. "Do you like her as much as your like her friends?"

Mother smeared the lotion over her hands. "Of course I do," she answered softly. "More so. She's a very sweet girl. Minerva would be proud of her." Then she was silent for a long time. "Kat, you haven't any idea what it's like to be a stepmother. Wyni isn't mine, but she is Edwards. I'm not sure where that puts me. What am I supposed to be towards her? How am I supposed to be an instant replacement mother to her?" Her voice rose with anger.

I bit my lip. This was something I hadn't heard before. "Is that why you don't like her?"

She took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. "I like her, darling. Minerva was my friend, and Wyni is Minerva's daughter. I'm just not sure I like being Wyni's stepmother. Still… I tried at first."

That had been what Wyni had said.

"And then there was you. Darling, it was obvious that you weren't adjusting." She laughed and shook her head as if she had just said something trivial. "I couldn't forget how upset you were when I told you I was marrying Edward. I thought you'd grow to accept everything eventually, but you didn't. Then I thought it would help you if you had someone on your side-"

I gasped. "Someone like you?" I asked, incredulous.

She nodded and focused her eyes back into the mirror. "Isn't that what I had promised you? And I did, at the beginning. But then it was you. I stopped. I warned you about how you treated the poor girl. But. . . but I suppose it got too far out of hand. For Wyni. Kat, I-"

I stared at her, playing her words back over in my mind. Without warming, something inside of me snapped, releasing a sudden flood of rage. Mother. . . she was why Wyni was mad and I felt so awful. "It was you!" I screamed, jerking my arm upward until I was pointing directly at Mother's face.

She turned from the mirror and stood up. "Kat!"

I couldn't believe what I had just heard. "It was all your fault! I wouldn't have done anything! And yet you blame me!"

"You're not making any sense."

"Wyni hates me because of you!"

She took a few steps toward me. "I'm sorry- Why are you blaming me?"

I whirled around to face the other direction and folded my arms tightly over my chest. "You were always egging me on in those. . . in those pranks!" I was being ridiculous. Mother was right. She had stopped. I had not. But at the time, I was too furious to care. Everything made perfect sense. I felt horrible about Wyni, and it was apparently obvious it was all Mother's fault.

She closed her eyes and sighed. "Darling-"

"Don't call me that!" I shrieked. "I..." I racked my mind for a new offense. "I mean, I don't think you were ever thinking of me. You wouldn't have made up your little "game" if you really had been thinking of about me! All you worried about was Wyni!"

"Kat!"

"All you care about is yourself!"

She was furious. Her face was right red and taut. "I don't need to hear this from-"

"Then don't!" I reeled around and darted from the room. "Because I'm never speaking to you again!"


	13. In Which Wyni Vanishes

The only way I fell asleep that night was a result of rage. My fight with Mother had left me both miserable and tired, but mostly just tired. I fell into bed with the plan to sleep the rest of my life away. Sleep should have been peaceful, but it wasn't. Every corner of my mind was inhabited by horrible grey monsters with scales and sharp teeth and little else I could properly describe. There were screams. And then there was Mother. She was in a nightmare all her own, changed into a giant with flaming eyes. In the nightmare, I was still screaming at her fro a bridge made of rock, screaming at her and blaming her for everything, including Father's death. She just laughed, and the rock beneath me vanished, sending me still screaming into a black pit.

Another scream joined mine.

"Ah!" I found myself sitting straight up in bed, sweat pouring down my face and my heart bashing painfully against my ribs. My back hurt. I slid my hand backwards and felt the cool wood of the head board. I blinked my eyes in a vain attempt to see. The room was eerily dark, even at the window. No moonlight shown through. The night must have been overcast.

With a groan, I bent my upper body over the side of the bed and groped the floor for my pillow. At there farthest stretch possible, my fingers brushed some material. I leaned a little more and with a crash fell to the floor head first. I sat up quickly and rubbed my head. My ears were ringing. The palace had been so silent, and falling off the bed was absolutely deafening.

I started to laugh. "You are so odd, Kat," I told myself out loud. I grabbed my pillow and flung it back onto the bed before pulling myself up. "You seriously need sleep." I crawled under the quilt and shut my eyes.

They had barely closed when I heard another scream. My eyes snapped back open.

"Earth and sky," I muttered. I pinched the skin of my forearm. The screaming wasn't another nightmare. I pushed the bedclothes away and fell out of the bed again. I picked myself up and darted to the door, hoping I wouldn't run into anything. I spent several long seconds trying to find the knob. I twisted it, heaved the door open, and tumbled out into the corridor. The hall was deathly silent. I gazed up and own it, listening for any sound. Nothing. No screams, no nothing.

I shook my head heard, then listened again. Again, nothing. I was hearing things. Still, I didn't want to go back into my room. I was far too awake to try sleeping. Trying not to make a sound, I crept down the hall toward Wyni's room. Maybe she had heard something. I had never been out in the hall so late at night. The palace was an entirely new and strange place. I was still shaky from my nightmare, certain that the floor would crumble beneath me the next step I took. But I made it to Wyni's door with no harm.

"Wyni?" I tapped softly on the door. No answer. "Princess Sunshine?"

Still no answer.

I rapped firmer on the door, then slowly opened it a crack and slid through into the room. Wyni's room was as black as mine. The curtains at her window fluttered in a night breeze, barely aglow. In my state, I took them momentarily for ghosts.

"Wyni?" I said loudly, loud enough to wake her. Hopefully. I didn't know how deep a sleeper she was. I shuffled my feet along the floor in what I hoped was the direction of the bed. "Wyni?"

I couldn't hear anything but the flapping drapes. I shivered. The night air was cold. Why had no one shut the window?

"Wyni!" I yelled. "Wake up so I can talk to you!"

Still, no answer.

With an irritated cry I lunged forward and collapsed over something hard. My shin smacked into the object. Gingerly I touched my leg. A tiny trickle of warm blood was crawling down. I pushed myself off the object and felt it with my hands. My eyes finally adjusted somewhat to the darkness, so I could make out the vague form of a chair. It was tipped upside down, and the wooden seat seemed to be slashed almost apart. Giant wooden splinters protruded out- what I must have cut my leg on.

I was hit by a wave of panic. My eyes jerked up from the chair to the rest of the room. Though I still could not see anywhere near clearly, I could see enough to tell that the room was not quite up to Wyni's usual neatness. And the window. . . earth and sky. . . the window had been torn right open.

"Wyni!" I screamed. All thought drained from my mind.

Without even knowing what I was doing, I spun around and ran back to the door. The door was opened before I reached it. A bright light flooded from a torch, blinding me. I grimaced and covered my eyes.

"Is there anything wrong?" asked the deep voice of a guard. "I heard screams, and came as quickly as I could-" His sentence was cut off with a disbelieving gasp as he looked at the room. The disaster must have been horrible. The guard stared at me. "Princess Katrina, what happened?" He wasn't blaming me; his voice sounded as if he would have asked the question to anyone and I was simply the first person available. He thrust the torch into my hands as he rushed past me, screaming Wyni's name.

I took a deep breath and turned around. The room was barely recognizable. Wyni's pink and perfect bedroom had suffered transformation into any of Father's battle zones. Besides the chair, every piece of furniture had been slashed apart. The bed lay as a pile of fire wood under a mess of shredded cloth. The doors of the closet had been torn off their hinges. The walls had not been ignored. Deep splintered gashes, nearly as tall as I was, appeared in columns of three at minuscule intervals everywhere I looked. It was as if a dragon or monster had been released in the room. Everything was destroyed.

Except for my stepsister.

Of her, there was no sign.


	14. In Which Kat Also Vanishes

Before dawn, the entire palace including the most minor servant knew about Wyni's disappearance. In other words, the palace was the epitome of chaos.

The guards, of course, had been questioned, interrogated blatantly to the point where they doubted their own words. They had heard screams, but had not made it to Wyni's room in time, apparently. They had seen nothing. Guards patrolled the entire palace and its grounds, but nothing had been seen. Much applause to the palace security.

As would be expected, Edward was as upset and inconsolable as any father would be in his situation. He berated the guards with unbelievable harshness, then would go off by himself and weep. Even Mother was upset. As would be appropriate. Her defense of Wyni the prior night, her end of her own chaos long before I had stopped torturing Wyni made her grief necessary. But what did that mean? She herself had admitted to a distaste for her stepdaughter somewhere back along the line. And so she really did care for Princess Sunshine. I should have known that by Mother's later actions in the garden the day of the picnic and the dresses. It still made me feel filthy, the only one insane and cruel enough to go after Wyni. No wonder Mother was so shaken.

As for myself, I was left alone. Being the first one to the room, I was questioned, and I had to repeat my story at least ten times. All I related was that I heard the scream and went to ask Wyni if she had also heard it. After Edward was clear on my story, I was given no more attention. I hid in my own room while the chaos surged outside.

I wasn't sure what to think about Wyni. I suppose I was still in too much shock to concentrate on anything. It made no sense. Wyni had no enemies.

I didn't venture from my room until late afternoon. The palace was virtually desolate. The few people I did see were barely conscious. Everyone really did adore Wyni.

The first people I ran into who acknowledged me were, of all people, Mother and Edward. They were slowly wandering the back halls, waiting for news and talking soflty. I nodded to Edward, but ignored Mother.

Edward tried to smile, but couldn't manage it. "How are you, Kat?"

"Good," I replied, just as dryly. Out of the corner of my eye, Mother sent me a small, hopeful smile.

"Would you like to walk with us?" he asked.

"Is that all you're doing?"

"Yes. It's all there is."

"Dull." But I joined them.

"Did you meet Prince Rowan last night?" asked Edward, a painful effort at calm conversation.

Why were we discussing guests? "Yes." The thought of Rowan, however, did make me momentarily smile.

"A fine young man." Edward went to the point. "He went off to search for. . .her." He couldn't even say his own daughter's name.

I laughed derisively. "Where's he supposed to look?" Inside, I melted. Rowan was sweeter then I had imagined. This was truly risking one's life. Then again, I was Wyni's sister. Perhaps Rowan could have stayed behind to comfort me. I should have been the one to vanish.

"Well, I think it's a wonderful gesture regardless," Mother commented.

I flashed her my deadliest glare before the words were out of her mouth. "And I suppose you think it's wonderful Wyni's gone!"

Edward gaped at me, then at Mother, horrified, and Mother's jaw dropped. Her eyes teared up. 'No, I don't," she whispered hoarsely.

"Yes, you do," I hissed, speeding up to get as far from her as possible. "You hate her and you hate me." It had to be true. Mother couldn't have abandoned me in a game she had started. Her kindness and apology to Wyni while I had laughed at her torn dress. . .. The accusation was my only weapon.

"Now, Kat," Edward warned. "We're all upset-"

"I guess you don't care either!" I yelled.

He froze.

Mother lost control. "You're the one who kept going on, Kat! I'll I wanted were a few harmless tricks! Tricks among friends! You took them as a chance to seek your own juvenile attack!"

My hands clenched themselves into tight fist, only in want of punching something.. I wasn't denying anything. "So you took advantage of me?"

Edward gave a quick nod, neck muscles bulging. "Kat, not another word," he commanded. 'You're not making things any better."

I whirled to face him. "Oh? So now I'm the villain? I bet you hate me, too!"

"No one hates anyone!" Mother shouted. Her hands were risen before her chest, as if she wanted to strangle me.

"Then why did you marry him?" I jabbed my finger at Edward while screaming at Mother. "If you liked Father, you wouldn't have remarried. You hated Father!"

Mother, on the verge of screaming again, slammed her mouth shut.

My own closed, too, stunned at what it had just said. I knew it wasn't true. And yet it was. But the words were out, spoken, heard, and still ringing in the air. Suddenly, though he had been dead for years, I wanted Father to appear and scoop me ups.

My heart aching, I glared at Edward. He was to blame. "He was your best friend!" Despite all my fury, I sneered. "Supposedly! Were you just waiting for him to get killed?"

Edward didn't speak for an eternity. Then he glanced to the floor and bit his lip as he decided what to say. "Kat, get out of here."

What had I just heard? "Excuse me?"

"You heard me. Go to your room."

I was being ordered about like a child! It surprised me that I cared. The humiliation fell like a sword blow on the already-accumulated emotions.

But I didn't care. I didn't care one bit. I wanted out of there more than anything.

I looked at Edward, then Mother, then back at my stepfather. Mother was crying. Yet I could see it in her eyes, behind the tears. She hated me

"Fine," I said softly. "I'll be glad to go." I turned around till my back was toward them and darted off. "Just remember that I hate you both!"

Have you ever been in that state of mind where everything, every fact in existence makes, for at least a second, perfect sense, and all you can do is hate that logic?

I lay in my bed, the coverings up only to my waist, staring with complete disinterest at the ceiling, shadowy and cracked. Yet somehow, a small part of me was utterly fascinated by that ceiling. Maybe because it was the one thing that wasn't changing. No, the ceiling would always be there to cover me and allow me to stare at it. Maybe I couldn't see the ceiling in detail with no light, but at least I knew fairly well what it looked like. No, the ceiling wouldn't change, which was more than I could say for so many other things.

* * *

The time was past mid-night, yet I lay fully awake, listening to the chaotic thoughts running through my head. Many were thought of the past few days, especially the last twenty-four hours. Wyni's disappearance, her trashed room, Mother, Edward. Then there were thoughts of days and years long gone, yet they were perfectly clear to me. If only they made sense.

I had run to my room after the fight with Mother and Edward. My room had become a place of refuge lately; it seemed I was always there. I could count on my room to be there, with its familiar stone ceiling with the little cracks.

But I could still hear. They had really lashed out at each other after I had left. Thought I couldn't be sure exactly where they were in the palace, they certainly were loud. Every so often the echoes of their fighting would break though my walls: Mother screaming at Edward, Edward screaming at Mother. Their words were unintelligible, but they were angry. In a way, I was rather resentful about their fighting. I was supposed to be the one fighting. In another way, I was glad, for they had every right and reason to be attacked. I didn't care. Whenever either of them came to my mind, all I could feel was hate.

I wiped my eyes on my pillow, hating the tears. Tears wouldn't solve anything. Then I rolled my head back to stare at the ceiling.

The palace was silent, as silent as the night before. Apparently Mother and Edward had gone to bed. Good. I wouldn't have to listen to or look at them. I hated them. I hated them for ruining my life. Everything had been fine until they had married, till I had become a Princess. And not even the Princess. I was the stepsister, the other princess. But that was all right. I hadn't wanted to be a princess, and I had told them that. But they hadn't listened.

I hated being a princess. I hated its life. Nothing made sense. Everything did.

I don't think I will ever understand what I did next. That doesn't matter, I suppose. Nothing made sense anyway. It was simply the outcome of everything: Mother's game, seeing Jonas at the market, and the ball.

The next thing I knew, I was no longer in bed. I was running across the freezing floor and throwing off my nightgown in the process. I flung open the doors of the closet and rummaged through the clothes until I found an old dress from my old life at Aeryn Dova. I put that on. I hadn't worn it since the wedding. It felt good to wear.

I took out the boxed I had bought at the market, the nut-shaped boxes that held so much. Into one I put clothes. Most were not too spectacular, but I included the green dress I had worn to the ball and the blue bridesmaid dress. I put in Wyni's old nightgown. The clothes disappeared into the nut, and when I closed the lid, the box felt only slightly heavier. I put that and the other two boxes into a pouch which I slung over my neck. Then I tiptoed from the room.

I paused a moment outside, the door still in my hand.

"Good-bye," I whispered, half-mocking. "You'll probably change, anyway."

Next, I snuck into the kitchen and filled the second box with food.

It was then that I ran into a problem. Guards were posted at every exit of the palace.

Near the back of the palace at a rather ignored exit, I found a window next to the door. Praying it wouldn't squeak, I pulled the window open and tossed an apple into the bushes. Actually, I had been aiming for a tree, but the apple landed in the brambles under the window.

Luckily, the guard took the short walk to investigate.

I took a deep breath and darted out the door.

I wasn't sure if the guard saw me or not, but if he did and persued me, he didn't catch or me. Or lost me. Either way, I didn't look back or stop running until I reached the stable.

There, I collapsed against the wall, panting for air. The stable was somewhat relaxing. It smelled like horses, the clean smell of horses.

"Falada," I whispered, as soon as I had caught my breath. "Falada!"

My answer was an annoyed snort.

I laughed softly and groped my way towards Falada's stall. She stuck out her head and snorted again, chastising me for waking her up.

"You're a whiner," I scolded, giving her a kiss between the eyes. I opened the gate and let her out into the main floor. "Stay here."

Of course, she took a step.

"Fine!" I said. "Just leave."

Her obstinance kept her still.

I found a saddle and bridle. Edward's best. But as he had already lost his daughter, losing his best horse equipment wouldn't be too much more. I put them on Falada and flattered her on how fine she looked. She didn't seem to care.

Some old blankets were kept in the back of the stable. I put them in the third box. There. We were set. I climbed on the horse's back and we were off.


End file.
